Draco Malfoy's First Year at Hogwarts
by jpvolpe
Summary: Draco Malfoy runs into prejudice early and often teaching him to be more tolerant. He is also asked to befriend Harry Potter, but finds it a nearly impossible task. The reason is that Harry Potter has been told everything bad about the Malfoys, including that they fought against his parents, and he wants nothing to do with them. Can Draco overcome Harry's prejudice?
1. Chapter 1

Draco forlornly looked over at the other children playing all together behind a barrier and noise shield. They were jumping, frolicking, and apparently shouting, though he was guessing at the later because of the shield. He envied them. Even though they were for the most part a number of years younger than him, he wished he could join them. Instead he had to dress up in a suit and tie, attend a Ministry function with his father, socialize with the other attendees, and take notes on what he learned or needed to report to his father. Never mind that he was the only ten-year old, and the only child present, not counting the younger children who were in the daycare having fun. His father wanted him to make connections and to learn the ins and outs of power and high society in the wizarding world. Not that Draco had a choice. This was his fourth Ministry function, and it was boring as heck. Yet, he was a Malfoy. He was not allowed to show his boredom or any other emotion other than happiness while in public. He must put on a mask, stand straight and aristocratic, be polite, and appear interested to whomever approached him. Everyone attending were either government employees or people of power and influence, so, he was also supposed to learn as much as he could. Draco supposed that someday in the future it would be useful, if he ever got a job in the Ministry. As of today, he never wanted to step foot in the Ministry of Magic ever again.

Another attendee came up to him and started talking to him. He said that he had been unable to talk to his father, Lucius, and that he wanted to change the way that each department within the Ministry wrote new regulations and laws. Instead of the head of the department writing a new regulation and enacting it as law, he proposed that a majority of the senior members of the department had to agree to the new regulation, and that at least one other department had to sign off on it before it could become a law. He was asking for his father to support his proposal.

As the man was talking, Draco took out his pad and his self-writing quill and started to take notes. When the man paused, Draco asked, "I am sorry, who are you and which department do you work for?"

"Eduardus Limus. I work on the Minister of Magic's Support Staff."

Hoping to end the conversation, Draco said that he would inform his father and ask him to contact the man. Yet, Eduardus did not take the hint. He started to launch into explaining why his proposal was needed and what good it would do. Draco put on his mask of looking interested and nodding at the man when he finished a sentence or two, but he moved in his position so that he could occasionally glance at the small children playing while pretending to follow the man's conversation. Eduardus did not seem notice, which is not surprising because Draco had not met an adult yet who could read his face when he put on his mask.

Then something unexpected happened which brought Draco out of his hidden boredom. Another man with red hair, freckles, and worn clothes stepped up to them and said, "Eduardus, why in Merlin's name are you bothering to talk about your boring legal proposal with a kid? Will you please leave him alone and go talk to someone who cares about your proposal?"

"Do you know who this is? Do you know his father? I think I am talking to exactly the right person if I want to get my proceedings accepted!"

"I do not care! He told you that he would inform his father of your proposal and ask him to contact you. No kid wants to talk about legal proceedings! So, go bore somebody who can understand it if you must, but will you please leave this boy alone?"

The first man glanced sharply at the red-haired man, muttered something under his breath and then stomped away in a huff. The red-haired man turned to Draco, winked and grinned at him, but the grin looked forced.

From his description and his worn shoes and clothing, Draco thought the man might be a Weasley. Draco knew all the pure-blood families; the Weasley's were pure, but they were poor and considered traitors to the blood. Draco kept on his neutral facial mask and said, "I did understand Mr. Limus and his legal proposal." He looked up and made eye contact with the red-haired man, almost asking him without saying a word why he did not think that he would understand it.

"Did you really? That is impressive considering your age." He grinned and this time Draco knew it was real because the grin went up to his eyes. "I would say you are ten. Is that correct?"

"Now I am impressed. Most adults think I am younger than ten because of my height, but some, especially adults at these functions, tend to think I am older because of my vocabulary and intelligence. How did you know I was ten?" He was just curious, it was not important to.

The red-haired man chuckled and answered, "Because if you were older, you would be at Hogwarts and not here. If you were younger, your intelligence and presence here would be even more remarkable. And because I have a ten-year old son who is about your height and weight." The man's eyes lost his focus, as if he was thinking or looking far away. Then he frowned, but Draco did not know why.

Draco pressed his lips together but did not frown. It was a trick he learned to keep his expression neutral. "I should have considered that." It did explain why he was most likely ten. "I did not follow your son's part. Is he the reason you were thinking and then frowned?" Draco raised his eyebrow to show he was interested in the man's son, hoping that it would prompt the man to answer his question.

"Uhm, you are very observant." The red-haired man looked sharply at the boy, considering if he should say more. "Yes and no. I was thinking that I wish I had thought to bring my sons to these Ministry events so that they could learn about the Ministry and make connections, but only Percy has expressed an interest in the Ministry, and most of them would not have been intelligent enough at ten to learn from this, and they would have hated being here as much as you." The man grinned at the blond-haired boy as if he had shared some great conspiracy.

Draco glared defensively, "I do not hate being here."

"Could have fooled me." Draco remained silent but continued his glare to the point of entering a staring contest. So, the red-haired man added, "Take it easy son. If you want me to never say that again and tell no one, I will. Yet, I saw your pretended interest slip for a moment when you tried to end the conversation and Eduardus ignored it. And when he continued to babble on, you moved to glance at the younger children playing. Your face never gave you away, but your eyes longed to join the children in their play." The red-haired man winked at him as if to say that his secrete was safe.

Draco's cheeks turned red as he smiled. "You are also very observant. Please do not tell anyone. And why have you been observing me for quite some time Mr. Weasley?" Draco raised an eyebrow at the last. He was not angry or afraid, but he thought it odd that Mr. Weasley had been watching him.

Mr. Weasley's mouth went open as if in shock. He had not mentioned his name and did not believe he had ever met the smart blond before. As if to explain an unasked question, Draco explained, "You work in the Ministry, have red hair, freckles, several sons, one son being a ten-year-old, and another named Percy who is most likely at Hogwarts. This fits the description of Mr. Arthur Weasley, chair of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office." Draco twisted his lips in a smirk and raised his eyebrows to show off his knowledge. Draco could show off in public if he had earned the right to do so.

The man looked confused. "I do not believe we have met. I am Arthur Weasley, as you correctly deduced. Who are you? Have we met before?" This time, Mr. Weasley's eyebrows went up in question.

"No, we have never met. As for your other question, I asked you a question first?"

Mr. Weasley frowned trying to remember the question. "Oh yes, I have been watching you for a while." After a pause that implied he had been thinking, he said, "Hmm, mostly because I felt sorry for you. Here you are a ten-year-old kid at a boring Ministry event, socializing with adults, and taking notes no less. Heck, I skip these events whenever I can come up with a valid excuse!" That would explain why they had never met before at the other events Draco had gone to. "Now, I have answered your question. Please answer mine."

Draco looked down at his shoes and smiled. Mr. Weasley was clearly not the brightest apple in the lot. Draco's hair and eye color were very uncommon outside of the House of Malfoy. And numerous people had said that he looked like his father, though Draco had trouble seeing it, outside of pictures of his father as a boy. Draco looked up at the man, straightened his back to stand tall, raised his chin in an aristocratic manner, and said, "If you cannot figure it out, I am not going to tell you." Seeing the man's startled look, Draco added, "At least until we say good bye." Even his posture and manners screamed who he was. Who else but the Malfoy heir would be at one of these miserable Ministry events? Draco smirked, thinking it might be fun to have Mr. Weasley try to figure out who he was. All the information was already staring him right in the face!

Mr. Weasley's eyes twinkled and he chuckled. "Alright, if a ten-year-old wants to have me at a disadvantage in a conversation, I can live with that. And if he wants me to try and figure out who he is, I am game, but I will need to find out more about him. So, I will need to ask you some questions, though I will not ask anything direct, such as is one of your parents a department chair in the Ministry. No, my first question will be what is your favorite sport?"

Draco beamed, "Quidditch!" This was proving to be his most interesting conversation ever at one of these Ministry events.

"Very good. And who is your favorite world cup team?" After hearing that it was Bulgaria, Mr. Weasley asked, "In the last Quidditch World Cup, how many games, semi-finals, and world cups did you watch where Bulgaria played?"

"All of them."

"All of them!" Mr. Weasley practically shrieked. The boy was clearly a quidditch fanatic and from a very wealthy family. "Well, I have narrowed your family to one of the few who are quite wealthy."

Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing and tried to keep his face neutral. Of course, he was from a wealthy family. His black and shiny kangaroo leather shoes, his dark Italian dress pants, his white silk shirt, and his silk tie should have informed him of that.

Mr. Weasley pursed his lips in thought. Did Ron mention that Bulgaria was playing a Quidditch match next week? Arthur did not have time to follow quidditch, but several of his sons did. "My son Ron would be so jealous of you. He too follows Bulgaria with a passion. Will you be going to Bulgaria's game next week?"

Draco frowned. He could not see how that question could be useful in determining who he was. And why was Mr. Weasley talking about his son? Was he losing interest in trying to discover who Draco was? The answer would also be useful to someone who was planning on kidnapping him. Draco initially thought to withhold his answer before realizing that he had already sort of answered it. "Yes, I plan to go to Bulgaria's next game." He then gave a smirk and said, "And should not Ron be more interested in boxing than in Quidditch?" After seeing Mr. Weasley's confusion, he added, "After all, with five older brothers, boxing would be more useful in defending himself."

It took him a moment, but Mr. Weasley laughed when he got the joke. "No, Ron does not know a thing about boxing. You have impressed me again by knowing about a muggle sport." He looked at the blond boy clearly wondering who he was talking to. "My next question is, in the following week, will you be planning anything special for the anniversary of the day that Harry Potter defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?"

The change in topic and the question itself so startled Draco that he froze. This was a topic that he was not supposed to talk about if he could avoid it. Clearly, he could not. He quickly brought his face back to a neutral expression and looked to see if Mr. Weasley had caught his slippage. Fortunately, the red-haired man had been looking elsewhere as he had waved to someone. Draco forced himself to breath normally. Draco was not supposed to tell people outside of the family, that they did not celebrated Harry Potter Day. The Malfoy's were to keep up the image that they were respectable and celebrated what the masses did. Yet, if Draco lied to this question, it would throw Mr. Weasley off. Was the red-haired man asking this because he suspected that Draco was from one of the pure-blood families that did not celebrate Harry Potter Day? It was highly likely since a lot of the wealthy families were pure-blood families. So, what should he do? Draco examined the question carefully before answering it and choose his words with care. "No, nothing special. Just the same things we always do." All his words were the truth; he just left out that they did not celebrate the day. "Lots of food, sweets, and wine, though I only am allowed a sip from my mother's crystal glass." This was true too, because the Malfoy's on most days had lots of food, sweets, and wine.

Mr. Weasley turned to look at the blond boy as he answered, and he smiled when Draco frowned about the wine. He wondered why children often wanted to drink what the adults were drinking. He frowned as a thought occurred to him. He had never heard anything about Harry Potter since the day that he defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "I wonder what has become of Harry Potter? He must be around ten by now."

"Is he not living with his parents in the Potter manor or estate?"

"What?" This was the first time the blond boy appeared uninformed about a topic most people, including most ten-year-old boys, knew. This surprised Mr. Weasley, but he said nothing about it. "No, the Potter's, like most wizards and witches, lived in a house. Very, very few live in a manor or an estate. And Harry Potter does not live with his parents because He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named murdered them."

"What?" Draco asked. Clearly, he had not known this. "Why did he do that?" Draco had been told that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had tried to change the Wizarding World for the better. Namely to preserve the old ways and to keep the blood of wizardkind untainted and undiluted by muggle blood. Did we not need to protect the purity of magic? Yet, Draco did not think that murder was a change for the better.

"What?" This was the second time the blond appeared uninformed about a topic most people knew. "Uhm, I suppose there were a number of reasons. First, Mr. and Mrs. Potter were opposing him. They had gone into hiding about the time that Harry was born, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named found them, entered their house and killed them. Second, the Dark Lord tortured and killed many of his opponents and followers who had disappointed him, that was why he was so feared. Third, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named wanted to kill Harry Potter, and you can bet his parents attempted to stop that." He had been watching the boy's face loose its color, but now he looked like he was about to throw up. "Are you OK?" he asked with concern in his voice.

Draco was not OK. His mother had told him nearly nothing of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but his father had said much, and all of it was positive and glowing. The Dark Lord had tried to change the world for the better, but evil muggle-loving wizards and witches had opposed him and defeated him. His father never mentioned that he had murdered many and tried to kill a baby. He looked to his father who was on the other side of the room talking to someone. His father had clearly not informed him of many things, but had he lied to him? Draco did not want to believe that. Could Mr. Weasley be lying to him? "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named tried to kill a baby?" Draco asked in disbelief.

"What?" Mr. Weasley asked in astonishment. Did not everyone know that? This bright boy was now appearing to be totally ignorant at least on some topics. "Er, yes, son. The Potters failed in their attempt to stop the Dark Lord, but when he cast the killing curse on Harry Potter, the curse rebounded and killed the castor instead. Harry was untouched except for the scar on his forehead." Then he added with a tone of voice that implied he was talking to a very young or stupid child, "That is why Harry Potter is called the Boy Who Lived. How can you not know this?"

Draco hated it when people talked down to him like he was stupid. He was clutching his belly from the sick feeling in his stomach, his face was very pale from what he had heard, and his ears were red from embarrassment making him look very odd indeed. "I… I… d-do not know," Draco stuttered. He hated when he stuttered. "M-Maybe my folks told me very little because they wanted to shelter me from the violence." Draco believed this was true of his mother, but for his father, he suspected he had other reasons.

"Oh!" Mr. Weasley gasped. He had assumed the worst and never thought of that. "Sorry! I did not realize some parents would try to shelter their children about that! Please forgive me and my big mouth! Please do not tell your parents!"

"Please do not tell your parents what?" someone sneered to their side.


	2. Chapter 2

Draco instantly knew that it was his father. He immediately put on his neutral mask not that he had been far from it. He then blinked rapidly thinking about what to do. He did not want to tell his father about what he and Mr. Weasley had been talking about, but he was not sure what to say. Fortunately, Mr. Weasley had just asked him not to tell his parents, so that he might not tell his father either.

Mr. Weasley turned to the new comer and said coldly, "Malfoy."

"Weasley." This reply was as cold as Mr. Weasley's. "Why have you been talking to my son and why did you ask him not to tell his parents about something?"

Mr. Weasley just looked at Mr. Malfoy and did not say anything. He then turned to the blond boy and said, "I did not know who this lad was. You must be Draco Malfoy. Correct?" he asked.

"Yes sir," Draco answered. How dumb could he be? Of course he was a Malfoy. He turned to his father, "After I correctly guessed that this man was Mr. Arthur Weasley, Mr. Weasley was attempting to figure out who I was. He never got it until you arrived and said I was your son." Draco looked rather pleased with himself.

"Wipe that smug look off your face son. You are not to waste your time at these events. I expect you to make _important_ connections, socialize with _important_ people, and learn the ins and outs of power and our society." It was clear from the way he said the word important that he did not think Mr. Weasley was important. He turned to Mr. Weasley and sneered, "I could care less what you do at these Ministry functions. Yet, I will not have you wasting my son's time and opportunities, and I want you to stay away from him. Do I make myself clear?"

"Very clear. I will go now," and Mr. Weasley turned to hurry away.

Mr. Malfoy stopped him by rudely placing his walking stick in front of the other man. "Not so fast. You have not answered what you did not want my son to tell me about."

Draco had had enough time to come up with an answer. He did not want to tell his father everything, because he concluded that his father did not want him to know the truth about Harry Potter and the Dark Lord. "We had been talking about sports. Quidditch at first, but then Mr. Weasley started talking about a muggle sport. Do you know that in boxing, muggles hit each other until one of them falls down and stays down?" Draco smirked to emphasize and cover his lie. Well, maybe it was a half-truth.

Mr. Weasley's eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise. Clearly the man could not hide his expressions and appeared not to realize how readable his face was. Fortunately, Draco's father had turned to look at his son and had not seen the red-haired man's surprise. Draco blinked rapidly thinking about how to cover for Mr. Weasley.

Mr. Malfoy replied, "The violence of those disgusting muggles does not surprise me. I would rather you just forget about them." He then turned to Mr. Weasley and said, "And I would rather you not speak to my son about muggles," he paused a bit before adding, "or about anything. Just stay away from him!" After that, he noted the surprised look on the other man's face, so that he started watching him closely.

In an attempt to cover for Mr. Weasley, Draco said, "What is the matter Weasley? Did you not think that I would tell my own father the truth? Just because you asked me not to, do you honestly think that I am that stupid?" Draco thought about insulting Mr. Weasley's intelligence, which would fit the situation because he was being very slow, but he decided to insult his sons instead. "I am not one of your sons."

"I.. I…I do not know." Mr. Weasley looked confused, darting his face from one Malfoy to the next. It appeared that he was wondering what he should do and say? "Maybe I should just go," and he turned to leave.

"That may be the brightest thing you have said all day Weasley," Mr. Malfoy sneered at the departing man. He then turned to his son and reminded him of what he expected of him. Mr. Malfoy then walked off and soon found somebody more important than his son to talk to.

Draco turned to the wall and sighed. He longed for his father to think him important. He would go and talk to people, but he was going to slowly make his way to the visitor's exit to get out, get some fresh air, and do some serious thinking. As soon as he could without appearing obvious, Draco put his pad and self-writing quill away and stepped into the visitor's exit in the Atrium of level 8 of the Ministry of Magic. He was transported to a red telephone booth outside the building on the streets of London. He stepped out of the booth and deeply inhaled the crisp night air. He needed to clear his head and think and getting outside helped. He at first tried to sit on the curb of the sidewalk, but he found himself too agitated to sit. So, he walked and paced around the block, keeping the telephone booth in view because he had never been outside in muggle territory before. He was afraid of muggles, hearing that they were violent and once used to hunt and kill his kind, especially wizard children. At this time of the night, there were no muggles around, but he stayed relatively close to the Ministry entrance just in case.

Draco pondered what he had heard from Mr. Weasley, wondering how much of it was true. Though it made him sick to think it, Draco suspected that what Mr. Weasley had said was true. Draco decided that he would have to read everything he could about the Dark Lord and Harry Potter. He could then ponder what he had learned and make his decision at that time. That solved that problem at least for now.

Yet, Draco had another and more troubling problem. He had learned that at the very least his father had not been telling him the entire truth. He had left out many details, exaggerated facts, and perhaps had lied to him. Draco had never experienced this and was greatly uncomfortable with it. He loved his father and wanted to trust him completely. Yet, how could he? He already knew that his father did not always tell him the whole truth. That was bad enough, but what if he caught his father in a lie? Draco did not know what he would do, but he wanted to know the truth.

Coming to these realizations, Draco decided to enjoy the crisp night air just a little longer before heading back to the Ministry. He could not stay long because if he was discovered missing, there would be a price to pay. Just then he heard a noise and saw the red telephone booth door open. Seeing an elderly lady and knowing that she had to be a witch, Draco felt safe and paid her no further attention. That is until he heard a shrill shout, "Malfoy! You shall pay for what your family did to my son and daughter-in-law!" His heart stopped in fear as he heard the next word shouted with a hatred that he had never heard before. "Crucio!" He then felt a pain so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was or cared. It felt like white-hot knives were piercing every inch of his skin and his whole body felt like it was going to burst with pain. He collapsed onto the sidewalk and wreathed in pain for what seemed an eternity.

"Protego!" Suddenly the pain stopped but Draco feared to open his eyes in case it resumed. "Augusta! Have you lost your mind?" The voice had a sense of urgency to it and it sounded familiar, but Draco was in no condition to place it other than that it was from a man. "This boy has done nothing to deserve what you have done!"

The woman shrieked in a crazy tone with anger rolling off her tongue, "His family destroyed my son and his wife! I will make him pay with the same spell that destroyed them!"

Draco opened his eyes in fear, looked towards the elderly witch, moved his hands into a praying position, and begged as if his life depended on it, "Please don't hurt me! I will do whatever you want!"

"When those horrible things happened, this boy was just a baby. He cannot be held responsible for what his aunt and uncle did!" Draco discovered that a shield charm had been thrown around him. Looking for its source, he traced it back to the wizard who was trying to reason with the old witch. The wizard was Mr. Weasley.

"He is a Malfoy!" She said it with much hatred, but the insanity had left her tone.

"Yes, but the Malfoys did not harm your family. The Lestranges harmed your family. You have just used an unforgivable curse on a defenseless boy. You know the penalty for that. Do you wish your grandson to lose you too? Think about it, what will become of poor Neville?"

The anger left her face and she lowered her wand. Draco repeated his begging, using the same words as before. Mentally, he knew that he was protected inside of the Protego spell, but emotionally, he did not care. He would do whatever was necessary to never feel that pain again.

"What do you propose we do Arthur?" She was looking at Mr. Weasley now, and this greatly relieved Draco. He feared her look, especially when the anger burned in her eyes.

Arthur dropped his shield charm, much to Draco's disappointment and said, "Well, I am willing to forget that this ever happened if you agree to never do it again and you leave now. But, you will also have to come to a similar agreement with Draco. Because if either of us report you, it will be a life sentence in Azkaban." He never said it, but his eyes reminded everyone of what would then happen to her grandson Neville. "Yet, I think the boy will be happy to agree to almost anything as long as you promise to never use the Cruciatus Curse on him ever again."

Draco silently cursed Mr. Weasley. That was why he had lowered his shield charm! To remove his protection and force him to agree to these terms! What a traitor to the blood! He would have agreed to the terms anyway. He would have done anything to avoid having to face that kind of pain! "I agree to never report you, Mrs. Longbottom, if you swear to never use any of the Unforgivable Curses on me ever again." There, he had changed the terms a little to his favor. Not that he trusted her to keep her word, but it was the best he would get and he knew it. His last statement got Mr. Weasley to chuckle, but Draco ignored the blood traitor. "And, I ask that you tell me why you hated me so much that you used the torture curse on me."

The answer that Draco got, he largely did not understand. She hated something about what he represented. It had something to do with his being all dressed up and looking splendid in his finest clothes, enjoying himself with his Death Eater father at the Ministry party without a care in the world. That reminded her that her Neville would never enjoy any of that and would never get his parents back. After she finished, an uncomfortable silence followed. Both adults were looking at him, so he supposed they were waiting for him to respond. Yet, he did not know what they were looking for or what he should say. Not wanting to feel unbearable pain again, he feared saying the wrong thing. She obviously did not know him well. Though he may have looked splendid, he was not dressed in his finest clothes. Nor had he enjoyed himself much with his father, and Draco would never call that dreadful Ministry Event a party. He did not think that he should discuss any of those points though. He knew about the torture of the Longbottoms, but not the details, although he had never thought about the effect of it on Neville. They would probably like hearing something kind said about Neville. "I am sorry for Neville. It must be hard not having parents. I know that I would miss mine. And my father was not a true Death Eater, he was under the Imperius Curse."

Mrs. Longbottom's features softened when he had spoken about Neville, but as soon as he mentioned the Imperius Curse, the fire of anger returned to her eyes. She objected, but Mr. Weasley told her to let it go, saying that Draco was just a ten-year old boy defending his father. The important thing was that the boy was sorry for Neville.

She agreed with him and insulted the Malfoys in the same sentence, but Draco knew to keep his mouth shut. "I swear to never use any of the Unforgivable Curses on you or anyone else ever again, and that I promise to leave you alone from this day forward, if you swear to never tell a sole what I have done to you tonight." Draco frowned, she had changed the terms of the deal. He reviewed her words carefully and decided that he could agree to it. In fact, one part of the change was in his favor. He gave his word that he would keep their deal. She then apparated away.

Draco looked at Mr. Weasley and wondered what his game was and if he should thank him or curse him. He decided to politely try and gather more information. "Thank you for stopping her, but how did you know that I might need saving?"

"I had been watching you." That was obvious, though Draco thought it very odd that Mr. Weasley had been watching a ten-year old boy again. He had been paying much more attention to him than his own father. Draco wondered what his interest in him was. "When I saw you leave to go to the streets of London alone and without protection, I thought it very odd. And when I saw Augusta Longbottom do the same and follow you, I thought it even odder. Seeing as your father was unaware of it all, I decided to check up on you and your safety."

"You knew that she would attack me?"

"No. She has never acted like that to my knowledge, but I was afraid that she might say something nasty or hex you or something." So, he knew her, though not very well. He must have guessed how she felt about him because of what his aunt and uncle had done.

"I would have appreciated it if you had kept me under the shield charm longer. Heck, I would have enjoyed being under it until she had gone."

"Look at my right-hand boy," Mr. Weasley said as he walked closer to where Draco still sat on the sidewalk. Draco noted for the first time that Mr. Weasley had his wand in his hand. He had never seen it until now because it was a dark wand held up against dark pants in a barely lit street at night and Mr. Weasley had been some distance away. Now that he was closer, Draco could see it. Mr. Weasley had lowered his shield charm, but he had been prepared to raise it at a moment's notice to keep him protected. Draco appreciated that and smiled warmly in thanks.

"Why have you been looking after my safety and wellbeing?" Draco knew that the two families were not close, and that was putting it mildly. And the red-haired man's interest in him was very odd. What was he after?

"Because it was the right thing to do. And I sincerely hope that one day you will look after the safety and wellbeing of others. You see, you have been born to hold a position of great wealth and power, with such a position comes great opportunity, but even greater responsibility to others." So, Mr. Weasley was trying to teach him something. How odd. By this time, Mr. Weasley had walked over to where Draco was sitting. The older man reached out his hand in an offer to help him up.

Being a spry youth, Draco did not need it, but he accepted his offer and grabbed his hand. Though his father would not approve, he trusted this man. This was the only response that he gave to what Mr. Weasley had said, but the latter appeared to take it as a pretty good response coming from a ten-year old. After standing, Draco mentioned that he needed to return to the Ministry. He had been away for way too long and his father may have noticed his absence. If he did, Draco would pay for it. "You told my father that you would stay away from me."

"Were you glad that I ignored him?"

"Immensely." They both laughed at that as they walked towards the entrance to the Ministry. When Mr. Weasley asked if he would tell his parents about tonight, Draco stood up straight, jutted his chin out, and said in an aristocratic voice, "I gave my word, and I always keep my word."

Draco returned to the Ministry function a head of Mr. Weasley and was relieved that his father had failed to notice his long absence. That night, when his father had asked him what he had learned, Draco only informed him of the usual things. He never mentioned any of the many things he learned from Mr. Weasley and Mrs. Longbottom. As he lay in bed, he had much to think about. He also knew he needed to learn more about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and Harry Potter. Yet, he was certain that he would have to learn these things on his own and without his father knowing about it.

Draco tried for months to learn more about the First Wizarding War and how it ended when a baby boy defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but none of the books in the large Malfoy library discussed anything that his father had not already told him. In fact, all the books discussing the topic were opinions written by supporters of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Draco suspected that it had been planned that way so that he could only learn what his father wanted him to learn. It was not until his mother took him to see the Black family home that Draco found some history books discussing the First Wizarding War. These books also supported the side of the Dark Lord, but they also discussed historical facts. From these facts, Draco was able to verify his suspicion that Mr. Weasley had told him the truth. This disturbed Draco because if Mr. Weasley was telling him the truth, then his father was not. Draco had wanted to believe in his father, he had idolized him, and his new-found truth greatly saddened him for weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

During the winter break, a little before Christmas, Narcissa set up a meeting with her son and a special guest, Sybill Trelawney. Sybill was the professor of Divination at Hogwarts, and she and his mother had attended Hogwarts together, though they were not in the same class. Besides wanting to introduce her son, Narcissa had asked Sybill to read her son's fortune. Draco was still rather sad and was not interested in hearing or seeing his fortune, though he remained ever polite as he was taught to be. When he first looked into the professor's crystal ball, all he could see was a bunch of smoke whirling, except for a single, brief glimpse of himself. Sybill suggested they try when his mind was less active, such as when he was ready to go to bed. In reality, the two women awoke him in his bed, and Sybill thrust her crystal ball into his hands. All he wanted to do was go back to sleep, but the ball showed them images of an older version of himself. Included in the visions were Draco standing at the birth of a baby boy, Draco holding a very blond baby on his shoulder, Draco teaching a boy to ride a training broom, and Draco sending a boy off on The Hogwarts Express. There was no doubt that the blond boy was his future son. Despite himself, Draco fell asleep holding the crystal ball, and its power pulled him inside as he dreamed about his son's life at Hogwarts, hearing and seeing everything the crystal ball revealed him. When his mother awoke him, he explained what had happened, but he refused to reveal what he had dreamed about. Sybill Trelawney though greatly disappointed stated that he had the seeing eye and should try to develop his talent in her classes. Draco nodded his head in agreement so that he could politely ask them to leave so that he could return to his sleep. He did not dream any further that night or for many nights to come.

Though he had two issues that greatly disturbed him, he kept them both bottled up inside himself. He never spoke of his dream of his future or of his father's failure to tell him the truth. For this reason, he remained moody until Christmas. With all the presents under the tree, most of them for him, he was willing to forget his dream and that his father was not perfect. One of his favorite gifts was from an anonymous sender, his future textbook Hogwarts: A History. It had an attached note saying that such a bright boy would find it more useful reading than a book of Quidditch. Draco was pretty sure that it was from Mr. Weasley, but he did not tell his parents of his suspicion. For confirmation, he found a book marker at a section briefly mentioning the First Wizarding War, a subject that Draco was now nearly an expert on. Draco was sure that was the reason Mr. Weasley had sent him the gift, and he did not have to think about why he had sent it anonymously.

After the presents had all been unwrapped, Draco experienced a third major and unexpected life learning event. Draco was sitting under the Christmas tree playing with his favorite toys. His other gifts were stacked neatly by his side so that the House-elves could move them to his room. His mother was sitting on the couch looking through a book that she had received as a gift. His father was opening a bottle of fine muggle wine that had also been a gift. Lucius offered a glass to Narcissa, but she declined. They were talking, but Draco paid no attention to their conversation until his father said, "Dearest, you should pack your things and meet me at St. Mungoes. I have just been poisoned."

While he had said his last sentence, Lucius removed a shiny, white, and small stone from his hair braid. It immediately grew a little in size and changed in appearance, at which point, he swallowed it. He then grabbed the wine bottle and immediately stepped into the fireplace and flooed to St Mungoes. Narcissa ran upstairs shouting for the House-elves to take care of Draco. Soon, she was running down the stairs with a stuffed purse and running to her son. She looked as worried as he felt. Dobby appeared, saw their faces, and tenderly held Draco's hand. He offered what comfort he could and said that he would look after the young boy.

As Narcissa bent over to kiss him goodbye on the forehead, Draco pleaded to come with her. "No dear, we may be gone for way too long."

Draco doubted that was her real reason for not letting him come. "I want to be with my father. Please do not leave me here alone." His voice had gotten very high and was about to break, while his eyes were big, puffy, and very moist.

She probably feared the same thing as he did, but she was refusing to speak of it. "You will not be alone. Dobby will stay with you until we return." Instead of making it an order, which he would be forced to obey, she looked at her House-elf with eyes that pleaded with him to look after her son.

"Of course, mistress. I will look after him and stay by his side until you both return."

Draco lost it. His eyes teared and rivers ran down his cheeks. He always had difficulty living up to his father's numerous expectations, and yet he could not bear to live without him. "But, my father might return in a box! Please mother, let me be with him in case it will be my last chance."

Narcissa's eyes teared and she hugged her son. "Dobby, look after my son, but you are coming with us. If you need to get something, then do so, but join us at St. Mungoes as soon as you can."

Dobby's eyes bulged and his ears went up in confusion. Apparently, he was wondering if he was hearing correctly? He had never accompanied the Malfoys anywhere before and he had never supervised Draco when he had been away from the manor. Unsure of what he should do, Dobby followed Draco who was being herded towards the fireplace by his mother. Narcissa threw floo powder over him and told him to enter the fireplace saying the name of St. Mungoes clearly. Draco did as he was told and soon disappeared. Dobby arrived on his own and Narcissa followed arriving in the same fireplace that Draco had.

They then searched for Lucius and overheard a doctor talking to him. They gathered that Lucius would be alright. Even if he had not gone to St. Mungoes immediately, the bezoar he had taken had stopped the poison. (It works as an antidote to most liquid poisons.) On their way home, Lucius explained that the bottle of wine was a gift from his second cousin, Marcus. The poison was probably added to the wine because if Lucius and his heir were to die, Marcus and his brother Junius would become the head of the house and inherit Malfoy Manor. Such behavior was to be expected in the House of Malfoy. Lucius could retaliate, but if he succeeded in killing Marcus, then Marcus' brother and friends would likely start something like a blood feud. That was one reason there were so few Malfoys.

Draco was startled to hear that another Malfoy had just attempted to kill his father. He knew that he always had to be ready to defend himself because the family had many enemies, but he had no idea that some of them would be other members of his own family. His mother on the other hand was not startled, she was infuriated. The first thing she did when she got home was check all the gifts for poisons and jinxes. She became absolutely livid when she found poison in her son's chocolates from Marcus Malfoy. She demanded that her husband disown and burn Marcus off the family tree. The trouble was, the Malfoy's did not do that sort of thing, at least not for fighting and killing within the family. Such family spats were expected, and it made the Malfoys stronger. A Malfoy always had to be ready to defend him or her-self, especially the head of the house and his heir, or they would die. It was Natural Selection in action. The weak would perish but the strong would survive. Lucius did promise that he would make sure that Marcus would inherit nothing if he and Draco were to die. That would take away the incentive from Marcus for wanting to kill them.

Draco was not too happy to learn that he would either learn to defend himself or die. He had thought that being born into the Malfoy family with all its rules and expectations had made his life too difficult as it was; now he learned he would be lucky if he even survived. Being a Malfoy, or more correctly a living one, would not be easy.

Draco reflected on what he had learned as the months went by. Soon, he had to get ready to attend Hogwarts. While doing so, he met Hermione Granger at Madam Malkins at Diagon Alley. Even though she was of a lesser breed and from a muggle family, Draco's proper upbringing with manners and courtesy impressed her despite his pure-blooded prejudice. Despite himself, Draco was impressed by how much she had learned about the wizarding world in such a short amount of time and how much magic she had learned considering she had never seen any until the present. In fact, Draco could not explain how she could cast nearly as many spells as he could and he had grown up in a household that practiced magic all his life. He found it interesting that she was really curious about him and his pure-blood family, as she had never met a pure-blood wizard boy before. As she described her muggle family, he became curious about them as well. They did not sound like the awful muggles his father had told him about. They were supposed to do all sorts of terrible things including the killing of wizard children if they were to learn of their existence. Yet, Hermione's parents knew all about their daughter's magic and she was very much alive.

She asked him to tell her all about the wizarding world. Draco considered it and somewhat reluctantly agreed if she would teach him all about muggles and the muggle world. She was thrilled and nearly jumped at the opportunity. She invited him to visit her and meet her muggle parents before school started. He looked blankly at her; this was not what he had mind. He did concede that it would be a good way for him to learn about muggles, but he had two concerns. First, his father could never learn about it. And second, would he be safe. He was after all a wizard child about to visit two muggles.

When he asked about whether he would be safe, Hemione just laughed and said, "Of course silly. My parents would never harm anyone, let alone a child." Draco just smiled and said nothing. He would take Dobby because no matter what she said, he was not going to trust two muggle adults with his safety.

Outside Madam Malkins, he joined up with his father and ran into a small dark-haired boy with glasses. The boy's robes and the giant of a man accompanying him strongly suggested that the boy was a young wizard who was about to start his first year. Wanting to meet a boy going to his school, Draco waved, said hello, and politely asked if he would be going to Hogwarts.

The boy waved back and started to say something, before looking up as the giant of a man next to him put his hand roughly on the boy's shoulder. The giant looked down sharply at black-haired boy and said, "Listen closely lad, 'cause I'm going say this only once. Stay away fro' those two! They are Malfoys 'nd are the darkes' of wizards. Your mum 'nd dad wouldn't approve." He then put his hand on boy's back and pushed him, saying that it was time to go.

Draco popped his mouth open in shock but quickly raised his hand to wave goodbye, but the other boy had already turned his back, so he did not see.

Mr. Malfoy bent his head down and whispered to his son, "Do not react to their rudeness son. Remember, we are in public." At the same time, he ungently pushed Draco's hand down with his walking stick. Though it was ungentle, the stick did not even sting his skin, but it may as well have pierced his heart.

Draco did not understand what had just happened, but he shut his mouth and forced his face into a neutral expression. He turned to look longingly at his father, but his father had already turned the other way and was saying that it was time to leave. Draco followed, keeping his face neutral, but his downcast eyes betrayed his feelings.

Next, his father took him to Hogwarts on business of the Hogwarts Board of Governors. His father's argument was that he wanted to introduce him to the headmaster. Yet, as he did not approve of the headmaster, Draco suspected that he was going just to reduce the trips that his father had to make. It was far simpler just to bring his son along to Hogwarts than to floo him home, floo to Hogwarts, and then floo back to home. Though Draco understood that he was just a sidekick, he was eager to see Hogwarts, and to be able to tell the other first year's all about it before they got there. He knew that they would eagerly listen to his experience and that he would relish the attention.

When he arrived at Hogwarts, Draco was amazed pretty much at everything he saw and experienced. He was a little disappointed in the appearance of the sorting hat. Its old and battered look was not how he had pictured the thing that would determine his and every student's house. It looked older and more battered than the headmaster, and Professor Dumbledore looked pretty old and worn out. He was somewhat surprised at how easily the headmaster deflected his father's wishes. As far as Draco could tell, his father had come to demand that the headmaster remove a book from the school's library. The two seemed to argue about everything, from the contents of the book itself, the value of allowing students to choose their reading books, what is morally acceptable, what is the authority of the governors, and what is the authority of the headmaster. Draco paid it little attention, except when his father mentioned how the book must be removed because his son might read it and then become tempted to marry a muggle, as if that would ever happen, which would be totally unacceptable in his father's eyes. The headmaster countered that if Draco were to do that, that he could just be expelled from the family. Yeah right, Draco thought, as if the only heir to the family would be expelled. That would be the death of House Malfoy.

Draco was so bored at their argument, that for something to do, he went over to the sorting hat and put it on. No one seemed to be paying him any attention anyway, so he doubted they would notice. When he put it on his head, Draco heard in his mind, "Ah, so you are the boy who has caused all this ruckus. This room was quiet before you arrived. So much disturbance over one stupid book and one small boy."

"Please," Draco thought, "do not remind me!"

"A little sensitive about it are we? I was not expecting that in a Malfoy. How interesting."

"I suppose." Draco then wondered, "You sort the students into their houses. Have you ever made a mistake and wished you could resort someone? "

The Sorting Hat bragged in Draco's head, "I never have made a mistake yet. And I have been sorting students for over a thousand years." Draco got the distinct impression that the hat had a big ego. "I can read your mind and the minds of all the first years and know exactly where to put them." It then changed the subject and thought, "Yet, where should I put you? Difficult. Yes, very difficult."

"What, I did not put you on to be sorted!" Draco sweated in fear. This was not supposed to be happening now.

"Yet, I am on your head, and that is what I do." It then returned to thinking about his sorting. "You are loyal and hardworking, cunning and willing to do what it takes to reach your goal, have a thirst to prove yourself and are willing to defend those you love against even hopeless odds, now that is interesting. I will have to think on that," it said it as if it did not expect that quality in him. "You have real talent, that is easy to see, and you know your destiny as the heir of your house and wish to change that which you can, which is also interesting. What is this?" it asked as if confused. "You also know a little of your son's destiny, and you wish to make his destiny easier for him?" The hat paused as if it was trying to make sense of what it had just learned. "I see how you know this and have run into it a few times before in all my years, but I have no understanding how it is possible," it said in confusion. "That is very unusual and shows extraordinary ambition. You also have one of the best minds I have seen in the last year, oh yes. You would do well in any house, but where would you do best?" It then made some sounds as if it was thinking. How a hat could do that, Draco did not know.

Yet, he had more pressing concerns. "What?" Draco asked in a tone that suggested near panic. "My whole family has been in Slytherin. How could I do well anywhere else, especially Hufflepuff or Gryffindor?"

"Only your father's side has always been in Slytherin, not your mother's side, though they have largely been as well. And do not forget that the Malfoy males have over the centuries married wives from many of the other houses. I remember your history even if you do not," the hat pointedly remarked. Draco turned reddish from embarrassment. He should have remembered that the Malfoy's, unlike most of the other sacred twenty-eight pure blood families, had always married into another house. That meant that he was descended from many houses, some of which were not from Slytherin. "You are loyal to your family, especially your mother, are you not? And you study hard to learn all you can about magic and flying, do you not?" The Sorting Hat asked these questions like it expected an answer, but it gave the blond-boy no time to think or answer. "That is why you would do well in Hufflepuff. You are a natural leader, and your willingness to defend your mother against even hopeless odds means you would do well in Gryffindor," the hat thought as if it was an indisputable fact. "Yet, where would you do best?" it asked as if it was unsure. Difficult, yes, very difficult. You have real cunning, an uncanny ability to reach conclusions from very little data, and a profound ambition to improve yourself and achieve greatness. Yet, you also have great intelligence, knowledge, and wit." The hat stayed quite as it appeared to be thinking. "Yes, because they will support and challenge you the most, I think Ravenclaw is where you will reach your greatest potential." The hat thought a sound that made it appear that it had finished its deliberations.

At other times, Draco would have greatly wondered how the Sorting Hat could think a sound that made it sound like it had concluded its deliberations. Instead, he said in fear, "What? I cannot be in any house except for Slytherin!"

"Oh, and why is that?" It sounded disappointed. "Oh, I see. Yes, well that is an issue. Hmm, well let me consider," and then remained silent as if it were thinking. "I see that you know that Harry Potter will be coming to Hogwarts this year. What you do not know is how useful he will be to you and your goals and how useful you will be to him. I will agree to put you in Slytherin if you promise me that you will try really hard to befriend the Potter boy."

"What?" Draco rolled his eyes in disbelief. He never would have believed that the Sorting Hat would try to make a deal with him, or was it blackmail? And did it really think that he a pure-blood wizard from a noble house would be held to a promise to an old piece of cloth? Still, his father did want him to be cordial with the Potter boy. "Oh, I agree," he thought, not sure if he would honor his agreement or not.

The hat laughed out so loudly that Professor Dumbledore and his father were startled from their argument. The headmaster even told him sternly that the Sorting Hat was not a toy, and that he should remove it. The two then resumed their arguing and paid him no further attention. Only the sorting hat continued to pay him any attention. "Do not worry about them son, they are only ignoring you because at the moment, they have their own worries which do not involve you. When the time comes, they will ponder much about you. Oh yes, I am sure they both will." Exactly what the hat meant, Draco was unsure though he liked the sound of it. "Now, returning to your promise, do you really think I am that daft lad? Your forgetting of my ability to read your mind," he thought with genuine warmth, "is below a boy of your intelligence. I know you better than yourself. No," it thought with a chuckle, "you will promise me on your word as a Malfoy."

Draco blinked twice, not sure what to say or think. The hat sure knew how to manipulate him. Wanting to be in House Slytherin, he promised on his word as a Malfoy to really try to befriend The Boy Who Lived. Afterwards, he took off the hat and patiently waited for his father to take him home. He had a long and boring wait.


	4. Chapter 4

The next night, he had Dobby take him to the Grangers. There, he learned about many muggle things including computers, video recordings, and camcorders, and he immediately saw much potential use for them, as a good Slytherin would. He immediately asked if he could purchase a computer-camcorder system and was greatly disappointed when Mr. Granger said no. Draco pouted and politely asked why.

Mr. Granger explained that he was too tired to go shopping that night, but that Draco could return in a few days, and he would take them shopping then. Draco blinked rapidly, thinking before explaining that if he was tired, he did not have to come, as Dobby could take them.

Mr. Granger raised his voice, "No! I am not letting a boy and his House elf or whatever you call it run off with my daughter and that is final!"

Hermione furrowed her forehead at her father rebuking, "Daddy!"

Draco blinked rapidly and explained that he understood his concern. He said that he should have chosen his words more carefully. He did not mean to make it sound like he might run off with his daughter." Draco rolled his eyes, wondering why they would think he would run off with a mudblood? Draco decided to gamble and tell the truth, or at least most of it. "Honestly sir, I will never be able to visit you and your charming family again, much to my regret." Well, that was not entirely truthful, but it had to sound nice. "My father would never allow it. You see sir, my father is from a pure-blood wizard family, one that only has wizards and witches for ancestors. My father would never allow me to visit a family that had muggle members, such as you sir, and your beautiful wife, or a muggle-born witch, such as your most promising daughter. The only reason why I am here now is because I failed to mention this to my father when I asked to visit a most proper and promising young witch I had met at Madam Malkins." Draco looked at Hermione and forced a slight smile when he said the later hoping it would add something to his words. He knew that parents tended to like it when you complimented their children. "So, you see sir, it really does need to happen tonight." Draco stopped and sighed, hoping he had not over played his flattery and had not over explained things.

Mr. Granger looked questioningly at his wife, trying to decide what to say and perhaps do. She just shrugged her shoulders. It appeared that they were overwhelmed discovering that there was a magical world and that their only daughter was a witch.

As the silence in the room continued, Hermione cleared her throat and said, "My mother was called beautiful and charming, I only got a most promising and most proper young witch." She looked sharply at Draco, faking a big frown, which quickly turned into a giggle. Draco smiled back, and this time he did not have to force his smile. He had to admit that she had some qualities that he liked. "By the way Draco, you probably should not use the term 'most proper young witch' to most muggles or first year muggle-borns as it means something different in the muggle world."

Seeing Draco's confusion, Mrs. Granger replied, "Hermione, you need not correct him for that. We know he does not understand our world and understood what he meant."

This only caused Draco to furrow his forehead further in thought, as clearly, he had no idea how anything he had said could have been taken in a negative way. He had chosen his words most carefully, because he had wanted everything to be perfect.

Mr. Granger finally asked, "Draco, you said that you had never met a muggle before, and implied that your father does not want you exposed to them." He frowned when he realized what that meant. Clearly, there was something about the wizarding world that he needed to discover. He turned and looked back at Draco and found the clever young boy looking at him intently. "So, why did you visit us if your father disapproves?"

Draco smiled triumphantly. He had been expecting that question for some time now. Keeping his eye contact, Draco said, "To learn sir. And to learn as much as possible in this one occasion, because I will not be allowed another one for a long time."

"OK, to learn, but why?"

"Why?" Draco raised his eyebrows and his smile disappeared. He broke his eye contact and blinked rapidly. Why did he want to learn about muggles? He was not even sure why he wanted to learn about any topic! He looked among the faces of everyone staring at him and found no answers. He sighed and decided to answer as honestly as he could. He looked up and said, "I dunno. I just do. Why I want to know about muggles now is because I am about to meet large numbers of them. And as for muggle-borns, I will be going to school with them. I do not know if there will be many or few, but I doubt that Hermione will be the only one."

Mr. Granger blinked in apparent understanding. He asked many questions that Draco answered as best as he could. He was being rather thorough, and it was starting to become draining. Draco was still patiently answering questions, but he was no longer smiling, especially when Mr. Granger repeated a question.

"Sorry Draco. You had already answered that. I had explained that I was tired and I was not thinking." He turned to his wife and said, "Dear, can you find some simple refreshments for the kids and us. Do not make anything, just bring what you have on hand, as I want you to hear all of this too."

"I think that would be a great idea, dear." She turned to the kids and asked, "Would you like Coco-Cola, 7Up, or milk, and lemon biscuits or chocolate-chip cookies?"

Draco looked puzzled and asked, "Are Coco-Cola and 7Up things that you drink?"

Hermione giggled pleasantly, answering yes. She turned to her mother and thought that milk probably would be best. She added, "Why do you not bring both types of biscuits, Draco may not know which he prefers."

Draco nodded to her in appreciation as he did not know which he would prefer. Mr. Granger said, "This must be a bit overwhelming for you, young man. Please understand that is not my intention."

"I fully understand sir. And yes, it is overwhelming." He had heard about the muggle world, but this was his first exposure to it and he was enjoying it more than he thought he would. Draco smiled to himself as he said, "I expect that you and your family will soon be overwhelmed by the wizarding world."

Mr. Granger raised his eyebrow in mock questioning, "Is that a threat?"

"No daddy, it is not a threat. It is payback." Mr. Granger burst out laughing at his daughter's joke, Hermione joined him, and once Draco understood her meaning, he started laughing too.

At that moment, Mrs. Granger entered the room with a tray laden with glasses of milk and two plates of biscuits. "Well, I see I missed something funny. Everyone please help yourself to these." She bent down, put her mouth in Draco's ear, and whispered, "Draco, is your House elf OK? All I did was ask him if he would like some milk and biscuits, he answered no, and then said something about you telling him to remain quiet, and then he started banging his head on the floor." She gave Draco a most worried look.

Draco shuddered in disbelief. Dobby might ruin everything. What if the muggles were to hate him because of Dobby? What would they think of how he treats his House elves? He knew it would have been better to send Dobby back to the manor, but he kept him for safety reasons. "Mam and Sir, may I please be excused to talk to my House elf?"

Mr. and Mrs. Granger pulled back their heads in shock, Hermione just started giggling again. Mrs. Granger saw Draco looking from her to her husband, not moving until he was given permission. Almost with irritation in her voice she replied, "GO! And you do not need to ask permission for that!"

Draco was so startled by the force of her command that he jumped and ran into the kitchen. He quickly told Dobby that he could answer questions and to never punish himself in the muggle house. Seeing Dobby whimper quietly, he explained that he knew that it was hard being among muggles, it was proving hard on him too, but that it would soon be over. Draco asked if Dobby had any questions as he grabbed one of the lemon biscuits from the counter and took a bite.

Dobby blew his nose and asked, "Is young Master Draco angry at Dobby?"

"No, I forgot to tell you that you could answer questions." Draco knew that Mrs. Granger had already offered Dobby a cookie, so it probably would be OK to offer him another, and Draco remembered how happy it had once made Dobby feel. "Would you like one of these biscuits? They are pretty good considering that they were not made by a House elf."

Dobby put his arms around Draco's legs and started crying. "Young Master Draco is too kind to Dobby! The young master has not given Dobby a treat since the young master was five. But Dobby remembers."

Draco's eyes suddenly misted. "You know why I changed." There was one advantage to being in a muggle home. "Here, take the biscuit and remember." Draco looked longingly at his House elf, wanting to stay, but he knew he could not. He quickly ran into the dining room to the others fearful that he had been gone too long. Hermione had finished her refreshments, but nobody else had.

"There is no need to run son."

"Yes sir."

"Is your problem solved," Mrs. Granger asked?

"I think so mam." Nonetheless, Draco looked worriedly back toward the kitchen and brought his right knuckles up to his hand and bit them. He had to regain his composure and stay focused, but Dobby had made it very difficult.

"Funny, it does not look it. I am sure a biscuit will taste better than your hand. What is the problem dear?"

Draco sighed to himself. Muggles and House elves, what a combination. Now Mrs. Granger was starting to worry about him. Talking to everyone and randomly moving from face to face, he began, "House elves are strange creatures. They have all sort of strange behaviors, like hitting their heads when they think that they have made a mistake. I cannot say that I understand them and I have lived with them all my life. Dobby is strange even for a House elf, if you follow me." He checked everyone's face to make sure that they did. "He helped raise me, which I am sure is why he is escorting me tonight. Anyway, the reason why I… I…" How could he begin to express this?

"Almost lost it dear?"

"Close enough, thank you mam. Dobby reminded me of a very powerful memory when I was five." He was not supposed to show his emotions in public, but muggles hardly counted. To distract him from his memory, He grabbed a chocolate-chip cookie and took a bite. He grabbed his milk and then turned to Mr. Granger expectantly. He had a job to do.


	5. Chapter 5

(Note: chapter 4 was too long, so I split it in two. Here is the second part.)

Seeing that Draco was not going to discuss his memory, Mr. Granger cleared his throat and said, "As I understand it, you want to go and purchase a computer now because there are no computers in the wizarding world. If they have no computers, what do they use instead of computers?"

"I do not know sir." Draco turned to Hermione and asked if she knew. She had no idea either.

"Why do you want a computer?"

Draco answered, "Sir, I want a computer, video recording, and camcorder system because I can see many uses for gaining and storing information. Access to more information allows one to make better decisions. Having better information gives one more power. For example, I will be able to see who is on the other side of a door, or who is walking down the hallway, or if the poisonous fog has lifted after a potion's class accident."

Mr. Granger did not like hearing about a potion's class accident, wondering if his daughter would be safe. Nonetheless, he nodded his head in approval. He informed his wife that he would get his coat and take the kids shopping. Draco smiled victoriously and Hermione shouted "Yippee!"

Mrs. Grangers quickly put a damper on their enthusiasm by saying, "Hold on a second. I've got a question or two." She waited until her husband sat down before beginning with, "Draco, why is your father so against you having exposure to muggles. Is it not unavoidable?"

"Mam, because the Malfoy's are a pure-blood family. And it is not unavoidable, mam, or this would not be my first exposure."

"Yet, once you start going to Hogwarts, you will not be able to avoid us."

"True, but our only exposure will be in the train station."

"But won't you have to drive to and from the station. And won't you need to go out among the muggles for other reasons?"

After learning what the word drive meant, Draco answered, "No mam. We do not." As far as I know, my mother has not been among muggles since her school days. My father has occasional exposure, but that is mostly because of his job."

Mrs. Granger took a moment to collect her thoughts and assimilate this information. Her husband asked her if she understood the pure-blood family explanation. She shook her head. She asked if Draco could explain about pure-blood families and limiting their exposure to muggles.

Draco blinked in surprise. He would have thought that someone from the school or the ministry would have helped in their learning of the wizarding world. How did they know about Madam Malkins? He asked, "How did you know how to navigate and get supplies in Diagon Alley?"

Mrs. Granger answered, "Oh, we were told to go there and simply asked around. People were generally helpful, especially Mr. Weasley. He was very helpful."

Draco frowned when he heard the name of Weasley. In hindsight, it was not surprising that his name would come up during his visit to a muggle home. It also explained their lack of understanding. But, how could he explain it and remain in their good graces to ensure that they would take him shopping? He could not do it on his own in the muggle world. He did not know which stores had computers or where to even find muggle stores!

"Is something the matter dear? Do you know Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes mam, and yes." Draco looked down at his shiny left black shoe and sighed deeply. He turned and looked at Hermione and said, "In for a penny, in for a pound." She had taught him that muggle expression and he used it because it was totally appropriate. He turned to Mrs. Granger and looked her in the eyes. "Mam, I probably should not tell you this, because I do not want to make you and your family unpleased with me, but you probably should know something before Hermione goes to Hogwarts." He briefly looked at Hermione before returning to Mrs. Granger. "There will be many wizards, witches and students, mostly among the pure-blood families, who will not be pleased that Hermione will be attending Hogwarts because she is muggle-born. You see, pure-blood witches and wizards believe they are superior to half-bloods who are superior to muggle-borns." Draco voice got softer the more he spoke so that he was whispering before he said his last words.

Hermione and Mr. Granger's eyes went wide in deep concern by the time Draco had finished. On the other hand, Mrs. Granger got up in anger and stood threateningly over the small blond boy. She pointed a finger at him and shouted, "I! Do! Not! Believe you! I have seen nothing like that!" In a loud but more normal voice she added, "Mr. Weasley was so kind and helpful. You have been polite to the point of being tiresome. And both you and he are pure-bloods!"

"Does young master Draco need Dobby sir?" Dobby asked peeking his head from the dining room door.

Draco sniffed in amusement. Dobby was very protective. He should have known. "No Dobby. Draco does not need Dobby, please return to the kitchen." Realizing that Dobby would probably want to hurt himself for breaking his order to remain in the kitchen, Draco quickly added, "Dobby? How did you know to come? I was just about to call you? Were you reading my mind?"

"No sir, Dobby cannot read minds. Dobby came because he was concerned for young master Draco and his safety."

Mr. Granger said to his wife, "Dear, I think you should calm down and sit down. I think it would be better for everyone," but he clearly meant Dobby, Draco, and his wife. He knew that Dobby was here to keep Draco safe, but he did not know what he could do or how much his wife might be in danger.

"And Dobby," Draco added, "if Mrs. Granger offers you a biscuit, you may have another."

Mrs. Granger snidely replied, "He can have the whole box for all I care."

"The whole box!" Dobby cried many tears and then blew his nose so loudly and so hard into a handkerchief that it lifted in the air and became nearly full. The scene was so disgusting that it nauseated everyone except for Draco. "The madam and young master are so kind!" Dobby then skipped into the kitchen humming a song.

Draco rolled his eyes and looked towards Dobby. Hermione interrupted his thoughts by asking him to remind her to never have a House elf. Draco chuckled and said that he would. He turned and looked Mrs. Granger in the eye. "We should return to our earlier conversation. Mr. Weasley is a unique individual. You will never find another pure-blood like him. It is unfortunate that you have only been around the more tolerant wizards and witches so far, but I suppose it is to be expected since the less tolerant ones have probably been avoiding you." Draco knew he probably should say more, but he did not want to. He had selfish incentives for not saying more.

Mr. Granger nodded his head. "I do remember asking a few witches and wizards for help, and instead of saying something like we should find someone else to help us because they could not, they just turned away and went about their business and ignored us. I just thought it might simply be a behavior that busy magical folks had, but maybe they did not want to be around us." He had been looking at Draco, but he now turned and looked with concern at his daughter. "Am I correct?"

"Probably," Draco answered.

Mrs. Granger asked, "Draco, will your father be displeased that Hermione will be attending Hogwarts?"

He had been expecting that question and wondered why it had taken so long to be asked. He figured that perhaps they were afraid of its answer. He looked at Hermione before answering and could tell from her sad eyes that she already knew what he was going to say. "My father had wanted me to go to the Durmstrang Institute instead of Hogwarts because they do not accept muggle-born students, but mother would not allow me to go so far away from home."

Mr. and Mrs. Granger both turned a little pale. Hermione asked a little timidly, "Draco, will you still be my friend when we get to Hogwarts?"

Draco got a sudden headache and shut his eyes in pain. He knew he had lost control of his expressions, so he put his fingers to his forehead and leaned his head to rest against his hand while looking at the table. Or not looking at the table because his eyes remained shut. Draco tried to think, but he was getting very tired and worn out from his affair in the muggle world. He thought it most unfair of Hermione to ask that of him at this time. Could she not ask after he had bought his computer and camcorder? He had never ever offered her friendship. He had only offered her help with the wizarding world if she would help him with the muggle world. Yes, he had been polite and cordial and offered her pleasant conversation, but how had she taken that to be friendship? If he answered no, he would not be going shopping. If he answered yes, his father would be greatly disappointed and Draco feared what that might lead to. Being sent to Durmstrang was the least fearful thing that Draco could think of. Why was he even considering answering yes? Could he hide it from his father? No, because he would hear about it sooner or later from other students, his teachers, or some other source. A Malfoy was supposed to present a certain image to the public at all times, and being friends with a mudblood would go against that Malfoy image. Draco smiled privately in triumph, that was his answer.

Draco opened his eyes and looked at Hermione studiously. "I think Hermione, you do not fully understand what you are asking. I am the only son and heir to House Malfoy, one of the oldest, most powerful, and wealthiest houses in the wizarding world. I am also the heir apparent to my mother's house, House Black, about the only house that may claim to be nobler and older than House Malfoy. As such, I must present a certain image to the public at all times as the heir of my house. Because House Malfoy is a pure-blood house that supports keeping wizard's blood pure, I cannot in public be seen as your friend." Draco paused briefly and smiled as if in a conspiracy, "However, if you wish to be my secret friend, I would be happy to be your friend in private."

Hermione and her parents blinked rapidly assimilating all that they had just learned. Hermione saw that everyone was looking at her, so that she knew that she had the next move. Yet, she was not sure how to do it. So, she asked, "Draco, I have never had a secret friendship before. What do I do?"

Draco smiled slightly, answering, "That is OK. I have never had a secret friendship before either." Except maybe when I was very young he thought. "For that matter, I have never had a friend who was my own age." Draco offered his hand and said, "I suppose I offer my hand and I agree to be your friend in private if you agree. Understand that in public at all times, I will not be your friend, although we may be cordial."

Hermione accepted his hand, shook it, and agreed to his offer. However, Mrs. Granger's eyes widened in trouble when Draco had mentioned never having a friend his own age before. She looked silently at her husband as if to ask, "What have we gotten into?" He returned her worried look. Draco had caught their looks but did not understand why they were worried. He decided not to ask.

Mr. Granger stood and said, "Right then. I will get my coat and you kids should get ready to go shopping. And Draco, did you bring money or credit, because what you want is not going to be cheap?"

Draco called for Dobby and Dobby instantly appeared by his side with a slight popping sound. This startled everyone but Draco, so Draco told everyone, "Calm down. House elves normally just pop in and out like that all the time. It is what House elves do." Draco then asked Dobby to enlarge a little sack he had pulled from his pocket. Dobby snapped his fingers and the little sack grew to a large sack containing hundreds of gold Galleons.

Hermione shouted in exasperation, "Draco, you cannot use wizard money in the muggle world!"

"I cannot?"

"No," they all answered in unison, even Dobby. This caused Draco to look flustered.

Hermione asked, "Daddy, can we loan Draco the money and have him pay us back in Galleons when we get back. We can get them exchanged later."

Her father nodded his head in agreement and then they were off. Or they were off after they collectively solved the problem of how to bring Dobby along, by disguising him as an ugly doll that Draco carried for Hermione. The only other major problem was when Draco wanted to buy a webcam prototype that the store clerk and computer intern showed but refused to sell. Draco got it after agreeing to pay 1000 pounds. Later, Draco had Dobby make him several copies of the prototype as well as making them run without a muggle power supply so that they could work at Hogwarts. After that, Draco was ready to go to Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6

The night before he was to leave for school, though the hour was very late, his mother, Narcissa Malfoy, peeked in the door probably to see his sleeping face one last time. She was probably not ready to part with him. Only instead of finding him sleeping, she found him sitting up in bed with a worried look on his face. "My little dragon, what is wrong? She walked over to him, sat down beside him on his bed and put her fingers through his hair.

He leaned into her fingers and said, "I am scared mother."

She should have guessed that he would have her departure anxieties. She too had been afraid to leave for Hogwarts the first time, and she had older sisters who had gone, so she at least had some understanding of what it would be like. Draco had none of that. "There is nothing to be afraid of little dragon. Both your father and I went to Hogwarts when we were your age, and we turned out well enough to have you!"

Draco frowned. She did not understand. Parents never did. How could he explain it? "I am leaving where I feel safe. When I am away, I will not have you and father to protect me. People have already tried to kill me!"

"People?" Narcissa frowned. Her second cousin by marriage hardly counted as people. Yet, she did not ask about it. "Hogwarts is one of the safest places on Earth. They have powerful wards and teachers to protect the students. It is true that your father and I do not approve of the headmaster, but I will say this for him. He cares for the safety of his students, and no student has ever died under his tenure. And if there is any threat to you, we will floo there in minutes."

"OK. Maybe I will not die there. But what if the other students do not like me?"

Narcissa brushed her son's hair with her fingers again. How could they not like him? "You are smart, you are witty, and you are very good looking." She had actually mentioned several times that she worried if the girls might like him too much when he got older. "Why do you worry about that? You are a wonderful boy. After they get to know you, most will like you. So, help them to get to know you. If you want more of them to like you, then you will have to do things that will help them to get to know and like you."

Draco only looked at her questioningly. She took it too mean that he wanted to know specifically how to get others to like him. "How you get others to like you will depend on each person. Some will like you if you help them with their homework or with learning new spells, others if you help them with their problem, some if you help them financially, and some if you simply listen to them."

Draco looked thoughtful before saying, "That sounds like it will take some time, especially when one considers how many students there are at Hogwarts."

"Yes, it will. Yet, if you would like to get started quickly, might I suggest you do something." She then whispered something in his ear." Only do it anonymously or they will think that you are a rich boy who is trying to buy their friendship."

Draco looked puzzled. If he did what she had whispered, would he not be a rich boy who would be trying to buy their friendship? Why would doing it anonymously change the facts? He supposed that by doing it anonymously, it would make it appear that he did not want the others to know who had done it, so it would not appear that he was attempting to buy their friendship. Draco realized that he was too tired to fully understand his mother's proposal. Yet, he was certain of one thing. "Father would never approve of it." Where would he get the money if his father did not approve? He had just recently gotten a lecture about the value of money after purchasing his computer system. Fortunately, his father had seen the value of the purchases, though he did not approve of the price or of muggle technology.

"My sweet dragon boy, how clever you are. Do not worry about your father on this. I have some funds of my own from my Black account; charge it to my account and never tell your father about any of it."

Draco looked up into his mother's face and then blinked twice. He reached for her and gave her a long hug, resting his head against her, and relishing the security and love he felt. When he finally pulled away, he thanked his mother and said that he would like to go to sleep. She smiled warmly at him, kissed him on his forehead, got up, tucked him in bed, kissed him again, and left the room without saying another word. Draco slept peacefully after that.

On the train to Hogwarts, Draco sat with Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, two pure-blood children he had met at a few events of his parents. They had behaviors similar to his and generally guarded their emotions and facial expressions. Draco liked them but knew that they would betray him when and if it was to their benefit. Most pure-blood children were like that, it was to be expected. Shortly after hearing the rumor that Harry Potter was on the train to Hogwarts, Draco politely excused himself to find and introduce himself to young master Potter. As he was searching, he ran into Hermione who was helping a boy search for his toad.

"Hi Draco, have you seen a toad? Neville has lost his." Draco looked at the promising young witch and mused. He supposed that saying hello and asking about a toad did not mean that they were friends, just that they knew each other, which was OK. He told her that he had not seen any toads, but that if he found one, he would let them know.

"Could you help us search?"

"What?" Now that was pretty close to saying that they were friends in public. He would have to watch her. And why would she think that he would want to search for a toad? Mudbloods sure thought strangely. When she asked again, he replied, "Sorry, no. I am searching for Harry Potter. Father said that I should become cordial with him." Then he paused as a thought hit him. "Wait, Neville, as in Neville Longbottom?"

"Yes," the heavy-set boy with a round face said, "I am Neville Longbottom." He seemed not really to be paying much attention. He then anxiously asked, "Have you seen my toad? His name is Trevor and he is lost."

Draco smiled. He had also wanted to introduce himself to Neville and try and become his friend, though he was planning on waiting till they were at Hogwarts. This would be a good opportunity to become friendly with Neville, and Draco had selfish reasons for doing so, very selfish. Draco stood up straight, extended his hand in greeting, and said, "I am pleased to meet you Neville. I am Draco, Draco Malfoy, and I would be pleased to help you search for your toad." He then asked Neville a few questions such as where the toad had last been seen and what color and size it was.

Neville just absent mindedly took Draco's hand and shook it, only concerned about his toad but happy for the help. Hermione, on the other hand, noticed Draco's complete turnaround once he had discovered who the lost toad belonged to. Thankfully, she decided not to say or ask anything. Draco also noticed that Neville made no connection to his name. It appeared that he did not know who the Malfoys were (how was that possible for a purebred wizard family?), or about Draco's relationship to the people who tortured his parents, or that Draco had met his grandmother once. His plan to befriend Neville could proceed without hindrance, for which Draco was very grateful.

After they searched for a while with no success, Draco had a thought. He asked if Hermione, or anyone else present could perform the Accio spell to summon Trevor. Hermione looked up from her conversation with Padma and Parvati Patil and answered that she could not, but that it was a clever idea. Unfortunately, everyone nearby were first years, and none of them could perform the spell either. Draco said that he had seen his parents use it numerous times but was not sure he could repeat it. To this, everyone else encouraged him to try.

"Oh no. I would never use my first attempt at the summoning spell on something living and important to Neville." What were they thinking? What if something were to go wrong? Trevor might be split in two or worse! That would certainly harm his plan to befriend Neville.

At this, Padma's dark brown eyes sparkled with intelligence. "Well, that is a good reason. Yet, why do you not try it out on something nonliving first, and if you succeed, then use it to summon Trevor?"

Draco looked at her and wondered why he had not thought of that. If he managed to summon Trevor, he had a feeling he'd win Neville's friendship for life. Draco winked cheerfully at Padma and said, "You are very bright. You should consider joining Ravenclaw or Slytherin. Ravenclaw prizes learning, wisdom, wit, and intellect. Slytherin prizes cunning, resourcefulness, and ambition. Yet, what can I summon? Does anyone have something they would not mind if it were accidentally destroyed?"

Hermione and Neville searched through their things, but Padma pulled out a necklace. It was a dirty silver linked-chain containing the head of an old house elf carved out of bone. The ugliest part was the numerous facial wrinkles that trapped a bunch of dirt.

Draco shuddered at it, admitting to himself that it was so ugly that he would like to destroy it. He always thought that house elves were ugly, but this one took the cake. Of course, he kept these thoughts to himself. Instead, he asked Padma, "Are you sure it will be alright if I damage it on accident?"

Padma explained that it was a good-bye gift from her mother, and that the head was supposed to be the bust of a house elf that helped raise her mother and grandmother. She was supposed to wear the ugly necklace as a reminder of her family's love. Yet, she grinned slyly and told him that he would be doing her a favor if he destroyed it.

Draco looked at the necklace and understood. He returned the necklace, pulled out his wand, and summoned the necklace to him. It easily flew to his hand; he caught it gracefully with one hand and gave it back to Padma. She examined it closely, frowned, and said, "I was kind of hoping you'd botch your first time and destroy it."

This caused Parvati and Hermione to snicker. Draco only smirked and Neville was too upset about his lost toad to even react to the comment. Draco said that he would like to try the spell again before attempting it on Trevor. This time when he summoned the necklace, after catching it, he turned his back to the others, grabbed the necklace with both his hands, and tried to pull it in two. When nothing happened, in a sudden burst, he yanked on it with all his might across his chest. Nothing happened. He pulled again and frowned, concluding that he might not be strong enough to break it. Unwilling to accept defeat, he made one last effort pulling until his face turned pink. Yet, this time, he felt the chain give a little. He redoubled his effort causing his arms to ache, but finally caused the link between the silver collar and the head of the house elf to fail.

Draco turned around and modestly put the broken necklace in Padma's hands, apologizing for breaking it. He asked her to inform her mother that he foolishly tried the Accio spell for the first time on the necklace and damaged it. Of course, his flushed face and strange behavior suggested that he was not telling the truth.

Padma looked down at the broken necklace in her hands and smiled. She leaned over to Draco and whispered, "You really are the nicest boy." She then gave him a quick kiss on his left cheek.

Though his face was already flushed, it turned a brighter shade of pink. Other than his mother, no one had ever said that to him and he liked it. He knew for certain that he wanted others to like him. He then turned to Neville and said that he was ready to attempt to summon Trevor if he wanted him to.

Neville had been too distraught to follow all of what had been happening, but he did ask Draco to try. Draco pointed his wand to the front of the train and said, "Accio Trevor." Not wanting to hurt the toad, he held the spell for only two seconds. When nothing happened, he pointed his wand to the back of the train and summoned Trevor for the same amount of time. He waited two seconds and then repeated his efforts, alternating between the front and the back of the train. After his third round, everyone heard an unmistakable croaking sound.

"Trevor!" Neville shouted in glee as he ran in the direction of the sound. He found him around a nearby corner in the corridor of the train car. He picked him up and held the toad to his heart as he returned to the others.

"Thank you!" he said joyfully to Draco. "Thank you so much! I owe you!"

Draco was very glad to hear this, but he kept this thought to himself. Instead, he just smirked and said that it was nothing and that he was glad to help. He then turned his head to look at everyone and said that he hoped to see them at Hogwarts. He was about to resume his search for Harry Potter when Padma held his hand and asked him to stay. She said that she and her sister were trying to decide which house to attempt to join, and that he appeared to know more about the houses of Hogwarts than anyone else they had talked to. With such flattery, Draco agreed to stay and tell them about the houses of Hogwarts. The biggest help he gave was that they did not have to both belong to the same house if they did not want to, and if they were sorted in different houses.

After leaving Hermione, Neville, Padma, and Parvati, Draco resumed his search for Harry Potter in a good spirit. Things had been going well for him and he hoped that he would soon befriend the most famous wizard child ever. Even his father and the Sorting Hat wanted him to become cordial or friendly with Potter. How good could it get? After asking around, Draco soon found him.


	7. Chapter 7

Draco's heart skipped a bit from nerves, but he stood up straight and looked through the glass door into the compartment that others had said contained Harry Potter. Two boys sat inside on opposite seats chatting amiably and oblivious that they were being watched. They were both small even for first years, being shorter and lighter in weight than most of their classmates, though they were just slightly shorter and lighter than Draco. One had ginger hair and thus could not be Harry Potter. The skinner boy had dark hair that fell randomly all over his head, like a dirty wet mop that had been discarded. His hair was so fine that it moved as the boy turned his head or laughed. Occasionally, as his hair moved, Draco could barely see the edge of his legendary scar, confirming his identity. The boy looked familiar; he had seen him in Diagon Alley just outside of Madam Malkins. Draco suppressed his queasy stomach, smoothly opened the door to the compartment, and entered as if he owned the place. Hearing the door open, the two boys turned to see who had entered. They looked happy and interested in who had entered, though the dark-haired boy soon looked like he recognized Draco, but his eye movement to the ceiling suggested that he could not place the face.

With a confident smile Draco said, "It is true then what others have said! Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts!" Though it was said with excitement, Harry frowned as though he did not like hearing what was said. This caused Draco to pause and blink twice. Why did he not like hearing those two facts? Not knowing the answer, Draco walked right up to Harry, looked him in the eye and said, "I am pleased to meet you! I am Malfoy, Draco Malfoy."

Hearing the red-haired boy snicker after saying his name, Draco rapidly turned to glare at him. This meeting with Harry Potter kept running into problems that were beginning to annoy him. He seldom was around other kids his own age; nonetheless, he was wise enough to know that the Black family tradition of naming children after the stars was unusual. "Think my name is funny, do you? There is no need to ask you yours. Red hair, freckles, and a worn-out hand me down robe." Draco's unfriendly glair turned into an even less friendly smirk when he discussed the robe. "You must be a Weasley! Ron Weasley to be more precise. As the sixth son, you will inherit nothing, not that that matters much because your family is so poor and unimportant that there is little to inherit." Draco then turned to Harry, changed his expression to neutral, and said as if it were a fact, "You will soon find out that some wizarding families are better and more important than others young master Potter. You will need to make friends with the right sort."

"Anything off the trolley dears." The unexpected voice startled all three of the boys. Unbeknownst to them, the trolley witch had come up to their open door and interrupted their conversation. Draco knew that that was her job and her standard line, but from the look she had given him, he suspected that she had deliberately interrupted him. Not that that his conversation had been going great; in fact, he welcomed the distraction. He needed some time to rethink his plan on befriending Harry Potter.

"What?" Harry said, as if he had no knowledge of the trolley witch and her trolley. The witch just repeated her earlier sentence, though she smiled, and indicated the goodies on the trolley with her hands this time.

"No, I am good," Draco said distractedly. He was looking at Harry and blinking his eyes repeatedly.

Ron grabbed a heap of sandwiches out of a sack, held them up, and said, "No thanks. I am all set," he said with a disappointed and forced smile. Draco guessed that he longed for the sweets but could not afford them.

Harry moved up to examine the sweets and candies on the trolley, as he grabbed many coins out of his pocket. He clearly was not poor. The trolley witch said, "Are you two dears sure? Every student may take one regular item for free today because it has been paid for by a very generous patron." Though she moved her eyes between Ron and Draco, whenever she looked at Draco, she darted her eyes to the trolley as if she were trying to tell him something. Draco looked at the trolley, but if it contained a clue as to her meaning, he could not find it.

"Really," Ron said in interest as his eyes beamed delight. "In that case, I will have a chocolate frog!"

Draco pursed his lips in thought and said a bit slowly, as if he was thinking while he was talking, "I too… will take… a chocolate frog… for free…"

"Why would the filthy _rich_ Draco _Malfoy_ change his mind and take a frog for free?" Ron interrupted with scorn, putting much emphasis and disgust on the words "rich" and "Malfoy."

"… and two more chocolate frogs that I will pay for please." Draco continued his sentence as if Ron had not interrupted. The witch smiled approvingly and handed Ron a chocolate frog and Draco three.

Harry asked, "Who paid for the candy?" He looked thoughtful before adding, "That must come to a lot of money to pay for everyone." The witch answered that the patron wished to remain unknown and that yes, it would be expensive." Harry went back to examining the trolley as if he was still unsure what to get.

With a slight hesitation, Draco handed Ron a chocolate frog, saying he could have another. Ron refused, though he kept eyeing the frog longingly. Draco frowned and threw it into his lap, saying that it was obviously his favorite, and that "the filthy _rich_ Draco _Malfoy_ " could obviously afford it. He quoted Ron and used the same tone and voice. He turned and handed his second frog to Harry who hesitated before accepting it with a curious thank you. Draco then paid for his purchase with the exact change of 6 Sickles and 11 Knuts.

Harry finally asked the witch, "Please, may I have two of everything? He then handed her several handfuls of golden Galleons." Seeing the other boy's payment, Draco smirked, but noting that the trolley witch said nothing, Draco said nothing as well. The trolley witch proceeded to hand him two of everything on the trolley and then returned him his change, including all of the Galleons except for two. When she finished, she pushed her cart up to the next compartment containing older students including two twins with red hair.

The three first year boys looked at each other in uncomfortable silence and opened their chocolate frogs. Ron and Draco had quickly opened theirs and were munching on the chocolate when Harry opened his. His frog leaped from its box onto the window and croaked. Harry looked dumb folded and asked, "Are these frogs alive?"

"Watch it!" Ron warned as the frog climbed up the open window. Harry just kept looking at it in amazement. The frog climbed up to the top of the window, croaking all the way, and then jumped out the window.

Draco sat looking and snickering at Harry. "You know Harry Potter, you are nothing like what I expected. No, the frogs are not alive. They are just chocolate with a spell to make them appear to be alive when they are first opened. They usually only have one good jump, but yours jumped twice to get away from you and keep from being eaten." Draco smirked all the time he was talking, clearly amused by how little Harry knew.

"Oh well," Ron said. "You may ignore Mr. know it all Malfoy. Besides, you still have the card. Each chocolate frog comes with a card of a famous witch or wizard. I have about five hundred in my collection."

Draco glared at Ron briefly before turning back to Harry, "Before you start ignoring Mr. know it all Malfoy, let me inform you that I am the heir of House Malfoy, one of the oldest and noblest of the wizarding houses. I am also the apparent heir of House Black, about the only house that can claim to be older and nobler than House Malfoy. Let me offer my hand of friendship to you," Draco said with a warm smile as he extended his hand to Harry.

Ron quickly admonished, "Wait Harry! Before you shake _his_ hand," saying the word 'his' as if it was a dirty word," you should know that _his_ father was a Death Eater and fought against your mother and father in the last wizarding war." And to ensure that Harry would never befriend Draco, he added, "His father served the man who murdered your parents!"

Harry just looked coolly at the hand that was extended to him and said nothing. Draco kept his hand extended, though his smile wavered and he pursed his lips. He blinked once before replying, "My father was not a Death Eater by choice. He was under the Imperius Curse and did not serve He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by choice."

"So you say. Yet, what if he did serve by choice?"

Draco started to look exasperated, but still he held out his hand to Harry. "Ron, exactly what are you implying? That my father lies to me? Let me assure you that to my knowledge, my father has never lied to me." As soon as he said it, he winced as if a knife had stabbed him upon recalling that he had caught his father in a lie. Although he knew that his statement was no longer true, Draco did not correct himself.

Ron noticed the other's wince but said nothing about it. Instead, he said, "Well, I suppose that I might believe you if you could prove that you were not lying. I do not think you can. Anyway, it is well known that the Malfoy's have throughout history engaged in shady deals and dark magic. Why should Harry expect you to be different?" Ron grinned as if he had already won.

Harry finally said something and coolly added, "Hagrid also told me to stay away from you and your father, saying that you were dark wizards."

Draco grimaced in pain again. He had hoped that Harry Potter would have forgotten that incident at Diagon Alley. "Hagrid is an oaf and should know better. I have never practiced dark magic." He reluctantly withdrew his hand and pulled out his wand. Ron quickly reached for his own in fear, until he noticed that Draco was pointing his wand at the ceiling. Draco noted Ron's pathetic action, doubting that the red head knew any defensive spells, but he ignored him. "My wand is ten inches of hawthorn wood with a core of unicorn hair. Such wands are the most difficult of all wands to turn to dark magic." He had proudly said that, looking at his wand with love. "And you may ask Mr. Ollivander if you think I might be lying." He glared at Ron as he said his last phrase.

Draco continued, "As I said before, young master Potter, you will need to make friends with the right sort. I can help you there because I have connections and one day will become Head of the most powerful and influential house in the United Kingdom and Ireland." He hesitantly extended his hand in friendship once again to Harry.

Harry looked coolly at Draco's hand and said, "I think I can make friends of the right sort on my own thank you. Such as the oaf Hagrid and Ron, the sixth son of a poor and unimportant family."

Draco winced and vocally apologized for choosing his words carelessly. He reluctantly withdrew his hand. "Please reconsider young master Potter. I admit I may need you more than you need me. Yet, I still have much to offer, such as a complete understanding of the wizarding world and the workings of power within it." Ron objected, saying that he could inform Harry about the wizarding world. Draco just shook his head doubtfully. "I said a complete understanding of the wizarding world, not a partial one. I am also a quick learner, I know more spells than most other students in our class, and I am willing to help you." With that, he pointed his wand out the window towards the rear of the train and said, "Accio Potter's chocolate frog."

When nothing happened, Ron snorted, "Yes, that was instructive! I do believe we could learn a lot from you." He grinned and gently elbowed Harry in the side. "Nonetheless, I am sure that you know more spells than most in our class, because you know the spells that we know plus many dark spells!" He once again grinned at Harry but appeared surprised that Draco failed to reply. In fact, the blond-boy had not moved. He was still pointing his wand and looking out the window intensely.

Draco shut his eyes as the sweat built on his forehead. The drain on his magic was almost unbearable. Then suddenly, the drain grew easier. He opened his eyes and beheld the chocolate frog floating through the window. Draco grabbed it and said that he had not realized how far the train had moved since the frog had jumped out. It had almost been beyond his reach. He then attempted to hand the frog to Harry, while he said that he had already told them that he knew no dark spells and had explained about his wand. Yet, what saddened him the most was the fact that Harry refused to take the frog. Because he had no appetite, Draco put it in a pocket in his robes. "Well, if you are unwilling to give me a chance, I will be going now."

"Good riddance, son and heir of a Death Eater," Ron shot at his back as he was leaving.

"Young master Weasley, your father is a good, hard working, honorable, trustworthy, and thoughtful man. I hope that someday you will gain at least some of his characteristics." Draco then headed out the door. He did not get far before two older boys appeared at each of his sides. They had red hair, freckles, and identical faces. Each of them grabbed one of his arms and held him firmly but gently. If it had not been for their mischievous grins, he would have been worried that they might harm him.

"Son and heir of a Death Eater? You must be the baby Malfoy," they said in unison.

"You must be the Weasley twins, though I have no idea which of you is Fred and which is George."

"Oh, do not worry. Even our mother gets it wrong," one twin said but both smiled.

The other twin said, "We overheard you insulting our brother."

"And as members of his family, we feel honor bound to say this to you," the other said.

In unison, they both loudly said, "Keep up the good work!"

"Yet, before we let you go, you must correctly identify in one attempt which of us is George, and which is Fred."

"Somehow, I doubt that if I guess incorrectly, that you will still be holding onto me when you go to bed tonight."

"He has a point. Maybe we should rethink the penalty for guessing incorrectly."

"Hmm. The baby Malfoy _is_ clever." The twin speaking emphasized the word is. "Maybe I should not have bet that he would be unable to identify us."

"What?"

"Never mind. If you incorrectly identify us, you will be our prisoner until we reach Hogwarts. Guess correctly, and we will give you your freedom." Somehow, Draco still doubted that the two Weasley's would want his presence for the entire trip. "You may ask us any questions you want before you make your guess."

Though he was being held against his will, they were not hurting him, and because he found that these two Weasleys much more pleasant than their brother, he decided to play along. Besides, he liked challenges and trying to identify Fred from George would be an awesome challenge. "Which of you is smarter and which of you is better looking?"

Draco was disappointed in their answers, they were equally smart and equally good looking. "Well, I have heard that George is a little smarter than Fred and a little better looking." Draco quickly examined their faces to see if one of them showed the slightest sign of emotion. He was disappointed to see that both faces showed nothing. So, he ramped up his efforts and said with a sly grin, "Of course, Fred more than makes up for it in that I hear he is more popular with the girls and can make them moan more loudly." This time, the twin on his left tried but failed to hold back a snort and a grin. Draco looked at him and guessed that he was Fred.

His brother was exasperated and said, "Geez Fred! Now we will have to let the him go. It is all your fault!"

"I could not help it! I was not prepared for how cunning the baby Malfoy was!"

"He was not cunning, he was plain evil!" George grinned and added, "I like him!"

"You only like him because he said I was more popular with the girls," he teased his brother. His brother snorted and told Draco that he could go, but that they both hoped they would see him insulting their brother again. Draco nodded in acknowledgement and left unsure what to make of the Weasley twins.


	8. Chapter 8

When he arrived at Hogwarts, Draco was once more amazed at everything he saw and experienced, though the first time was better. He ran into Hagrid, who was herding the first years from the train to the boats. The two eyed each other coolly but neither said anything. When it came time for the sorting, he was surprised that his name was called, as, he had already been sorted. The hat called his house before it even touched his head.

When it fell to his head, Draco heard in his mind, "Hello again. Do you know that you have already influenced more of the first years in more ways than most of the others?"

"What? You must be mistaken."

"No," the Sorting Hat thought, "I have already told you that I never have made a mistake, at least not yet. It is all in your head and in the heads of the other first years I have examined so far." Just then, the hat was pulled off his head, which was not surprising because it had already called out his house. Though Draco would have liked to stay longer and communicate with the hat, he knew that he could not. The sorting ceremony had to continue. As he stood, the hat did something it seldom did to students, it said something to him out loud besides the name of his house. It said, "Remember your promise boy."

Draco nodded his head in answer and left. At this time, all the students from House Slytherin clapped their hands enthusiastically while the professors clapped politely. Draco noted that none of the other students clapped, though that was not unusual for the other houses. As he walked over to the Slytherin table, he heard Ron say to Harry, "There is not a witch or wizard who went bad that was not in Slytherin. I am not surprised he was sent there."

"Yes, I noticed how quick the hat was with him. I wonder what the promise was?"

Draco looked at the two boys who had not given him a chance and wondered if he would be able to fulfill his promise. He briefly frowned, before he controlled his features as a Malfoy should and made his face neutral. He then walked to his new family, accepted their cheers and a pat on the back, sat down, and then forced himself to appear to be happy. He knew that he did not have the luxury of putting his head down on the table and crying. That would make him look weak and mark him as an easy target. Most of the other students would not care about his looking weak, but most of the Slytherins would use his weakness for their own advantage. And the few who considered the Malfoys mortal enemies or the ones who could be bought by them would view his weakness as an invitation to kidnap or kill him. No, he could not look weak; he would have to grin and bear it. He barely noted that the sorting ceremony had ended and diner had begun.

For a time, Draco tried to forget about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, but it was difficult because they had some of the same classes. The only class that he liked that he shared with the other two boys was Potions, and that was because of its teacher, Professor Snape. Though he doubted that any of the other teachers would cause him harm, he felt that some of them really disliked him and might turn a blind eye if a student were to hex or punch him. Of all the professors, he only felt safe around Professor Snape.

On Friday at three-thirty in the afternoon, Draco and the first-year Slytherins walked, skipped, or jumped down the front steps of Hogwarts onto the grounds for their first flying lesson. They were all excited about their first lesson. It was a bright, clear, and breezy day, perfect for flying. The flying lessons were held on a smooth, flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the Forbidden Forest. There were twenty broomsticks already lying in neat lines on the ground. Draco frowned at the quality of the school brooms, some had bristles bent or missing, some looked crooked, some looked like they would vibrate if you flew too high, others looked like they would not fly straight, and all of them looked old and well used. Draco wondered why first years were not allowed to bring their own brooms to school. The Gryffindors soon joined them, and for the most part stayed by the brooms closest to the school. The Slytherins for their part stayed mostly by the brooms closest to the Forbidden Forest. Trying to catch Neville's eye, Draco moved through the Slytherins and next to the Gryffindors. Hermione saw his motion and moved to the end of the Gryffindors right next to him. This initially alarmed him, until he saw Neville move opposite of her. Draco secretly smiled as he realized that she had brought Neville to him. She was not bad for a mudblood!

Their teacher, Madam Hooch, soon arrived with her black robes flapping in the breeze. She had short, gray hair, and piercing yellow eyes making her look like a giant hawk. She told them to stand by a broom, to put their right hand out as if to catch the broom, and to command the broom to come up to them. When Draco did as he was told, the broom immediately flew up to his hand and he caught it. Looking around, he saw that most of the other student brooms were just wobbling on the ground or doing nothing, a few were moving up a few inches before falling to the ground, and only one other broom had flown up on command to be caught by its student, Harry Potter. After repeatedly commanding their brooms to come up, more and more students caught their brooms. Madam Hooch walked among them offering advice to those who were struggling.

Getting bored while waiting for the others, Draco mounted his broom. It was different than his own at home, but it felt good. He could not wait to fly. Blaise Zabini, a Slytherin student next to him copied him and mounted his broom. Draco smirked, "Blaise, I would not fly your broom riding it like that. Or you will find it awfully painful." He gave an evil little smile to Neville as he got off his broom and added, "If you want to be able to walk afterwards, the correct way to get on a broom is like this." He then showed Blaise and Neville how to mount their brooms.

Hermione followed his example and asked if she had mounted her broom correctly. Draco smirked that he did not know for her case. "What do you mean for my case? Do not try to tell me pure-bloods mount their brooms differently from muggle-borns," she said sounding a bit exasperated.

"What?" Draco said in confusion. He blinked, wondering why she was upset, and he looked at Neville and Blaise until her words registered. They were pure-bloods just like himself. "No, that has nothing to do with it," he quickly said trying to calm her. "It is just that I do not know how a girl," he smirked, "is supposed to mount a broom."

"You are on the broom correctly my dear," Madam Hooch said. No one had noticed that she had walked up behind them. "Get back in line Draco," she said impatiently. He moved to comply, but stayed on his broom. She kept her eyes on him the entire time, making him feel uncomfortable. She then admonished the students to stay in their lines, saying that she would deduct a point from their house for each student who was out of line. She then deducted a point from Slytherin because of Draco being out of line.

Draco looked astonished and tried to say that he had been out of line only before she had told them to stay in line. Madam Hooch deducted another point and asked him if he would like to make it three? "No, Madam Hooch," he answered forlornly.

She then pulled Hermione out in the middle of the lines and asked if she would show the other students how to correctly mount their brooms. As she mounted her broom, Draco sulked about how he had been treated. He was the one who had shown Hermione how to mount a broom, even though he was unsure if it was the correct way for a girl to do it. She got the thanks and praise of the other students and the teacher, while he got an unkind admonishment and a two-point penalty for his house. Yes, he had been out of line, but only before he knew that Madam Hooch wanted them to stay in line. It was not fair, but there was little he could do about it.

When Madam Hooch was about to send them flying, Neville Longbottom kicked off too soon and immediately lost control of his broom. He became a danger to himself and to the other students as he flew around at random, buzzing some of the students. Draco initially found it funny, but changed his opinion when he saw how terrified and helpless Neville appeared. Although Madam Hooch had pulled out her wand and pointed it at Neville, all she did was repeatedly yell at him to get back to the ground. Draco could see that all her yelling did nothing except make poor Neville more nervous and more out of control, which Draco found hard to believe was possible. Mystified that Madam Hooch was not using magic to correct the situation, when Neville started to fly dangerously high, Draco took out his wand to do something. Yet, the only spell he knew that might work was Accio, and he was unsure how to use it on both the broom and the boy at the same time. Using it on either alone might cause poor Neville to fall off his broom. Before he could think of anything, Neville flew into a decoration on the school and fell off his broom. Draco knew of no spells to help him, so Neville fell loudly into the ground at a frightful speed. Madam Hooch, her wand still in her hand, walked over to him, looked him over, and reported that he had a broken wrist. She then put her wand away and said that she was taking Mr. Longbottom to the infirmary. She admonished the students to stay on the ground until she got back, or she would expel them.

Draco watched them go wondering about Madam Hooch. Being a teacher, she must have known a spell to correct or improve the situation. Draco had only been using his wand for a couple of days, and he at least knew the summoning spell. Why had she not done something? She did not seem very fair, at least to him, was she also not very bright? And would she really expel someone for simply flying? He doubted it.

As the Slytherins made jokes about the flying ability of the Gryffindors, Draco said, "Did you see his face, the great lump?" The other Slytherins continued their laughter. Draco realized he could become more popular with the Slytherins by being crueler to Neville, but he figured he did not need it. His foot then bumped into something hard. He looked down, smiled, bent down, and in one continuously smooth motion scooped up Neville's Remembrall. He held it up to the sun and looked through it to see its brilliant radiance. He found it so enticing he had to force himself to look away from it. He threw it into the air and caught it gracefully, saying, "Look here. Maybe if the fat lump would have given this a squeeze, he would have remembered to fall on his fat ass. Then he would not have had to go to the hospital."

Someone quietly told him to give the Remembrall to him. Looking up, he saw that the request had come from Potter. He smiled nastily knowing that he had gotten the attention of the boy who had rejected him. He could not explain it, but he wanted Potter's attention and wanted to keep it. "No," he said, "I think I will leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find. How about up a tree?"

"Give it here!" Potter yelled. Draco looked challengingly at Potter and tossed the ball up in the air and gracefully caught it. He then mounted his broom and flew stylishly in a loop around the students and started climbing at a uniform rate higher into the air. As most of the students could not fly, most were startled to see how well he could fly. When he got above an oak tree, he stopped and challenged Potter to come and get it. He smoothly tossed the Remembrall in the air, catching it to emphasize his challenge.

Harry angrily grabbed his broom and mounted it just as Draco had done, ignoring the shouts of Hermione to follow what Madam Hooch had said, namely to stay on the ground. Harry soon was flying upward, but his movement was not uniform, it was in spurts and drags. And instead of flying in graceful loops and arcs, his direction was rather plainly directed straight at Draco. Draco suppressed his smile at how easy Potter had been manipulated. He had been very predictable. The only thing that confused him was that Potter was flying far better than he had expected. It appeared he had taken flying lessons, but that was impossible since he had been raised by muggles.

When he got close, Harry shouted, "Give it here Malfoy, or I'll knock you off your broom!" Draco just smiled at him and tossed the Remembrall in the air, catching it without even looking. Harry shot his broom at the other boy, grabbing for the ball, and bumping recklessly into Draco. The collision spun Draco around his broomstick, but he managed to keep one hand on the broomstick and the other on the ball.

"Take it easy Potter!" he yelled. He had been toying with Potter, but now he was angry. "I almost fell and if I had, you would have been expelled!" He was so angry, that he did not care that he was showing Potter emotion. Yet, when he realized that he was also showing it to the students below, and Malfoys were not supposed to do that, he suppressed or hid his anger with considerable effort. "Besides, Potter, if you think about it, I am actually helping Longbottom."

"Helping him my ass! Give it here, or I will knock you off your broom!"

Draco frowned. There was no reasoning with that boy. He thought he knew more than others and acted like he was from nobility. Which was ironic because, unlike Draco, he knew next to nothing, and had muggles instead of nobles in his ancestry. "Have it your way then," Draco replied as he tossed the ball as hard as he could. Harry streaked after it in a rush and caught it just as it was about to crash into Professor McGonagall's window.

Harry triumphantly tossed the ball up into the air and caught it just as Draco had done it, accept he lost his balance and might have fallen from his broom if he had not been able to catch himself. He then flew over to Draco, pointedly holding up the ball as a trophy as he went. He took no chances though and stayed several feet away from the other.

"How did you do that?" Draco asked sounding a bit defeated. Potter's feat was not something normally seen in a first-time flyer. For that matter, Draco doubted that he could have accomplished it. To make matters worse, Potter's besting him may have cost him his hard-won position as a leader of the first-year Slytherins.

"I do not know. I just did it."

Draco just looked at the dark-haired boy with envy before flying lower in slow graceful loops towards the ground. Potter watched the blond boy descend for a while, before noting the others on the ground watching them, at which point he triumphantly held up the Remembrall, hooted, and then began his descent like a rock being dropped from above. Draco quietly rejoined the Slytherins, though he moved to the far side away from the others while Harry loudly rejoined the Gryffindors. The students who were once together separated into two groups, with Draco at the far side away from the Gryffindors. It was not long before Professor McGonagall showed up and ordered Potter to follow her. She then left at a quick pace saying nothing. Potter swallowed and looked at Hermione but said nothing before leaving with McGonagall.

Whispers sprung up all around wondering what it all meant. A few of the Slytherins laughed and predicted that Potter would be expelled for disobeying Madam Hooch, but Draco stayed quiet and interacted as little as he could with the others. He would work on winning back his leadership status among the Slytherins at another time.

Later, Draco could not believe that he actually went to see Professor McGonagall after their lesson. Judging from the expression on the professor's face, Draco gathered that she was also surprised to see him. "Is there something I can do for you Mr. Malfoy?"

"Yes, professor. I want to ask what will happen to Mr. Potter?"

That made Professor McGonagall doubly confused, judging from her face and her frown. "Mr. Potter? Why does Mr. Potter's fate concern you?"

"Well, … ah …," he stammered as he kicked his toe into the ground. "I suppose it … ah…" He paused until the professor just waved her arms to encourage him to spell it out. "If Mr. Potter is being expelled for what he did on the broom, well, ah, I suppose that I was partly at fault." He said this next part all in a jumbled rush, "I think that should be known when evaluating his punishment."

Professor McGonagall sighed and looked at him sharply. "Never have I seen you having so much trouble expressing yourself! Nonetheless," and here she gave the slightest of smiles that Draco was unsure he really saw, "your confession is admirable. For that reason, I will answer you even though it is not your concern. Mr. Potter is not being expelled nor is he being punished. So, please stop troubling yourself and get yourself to your next class before you are tardy."

Draco took that as a dismissal and nodded in respect as he turned to leave. His visit to her had not been for nothing. He had always suspected that Professor McGonagall did not trust him. In class, she would answer his questions and even help him, but she was much colder to him than to the others. Yet, his visit proved that she was willing to give him a chance. He wished that more of his teachers would do that.


	9. Chapter 9

At dinner time, he ran into Professor McGonagall again as he was leaving the hospital ward. He nodded at her respectfully as she watched him closely with her beady eyes. He tried to walk around her, but she stopped him by holding out her arm. "Mr. Malfoy," she said in a demanding but not unkind voice. "Why are you not at the dinner table?"

"I was visiting a friend in the hospital. Yet, I am going there now."

"A friend in the hospital? Well, best be off then before dinner ends," she said as if in thought. "I will be checking on you," and she gave him a look that he could not read.

"Professor?" What did she mean and why was she checking on him?

"Off to dinner Mr. Malfoy. Or else you will be going to bed hungry."

It was a clear dismissal, so Draco nodded again and turned to leave. He was hungry after all, so he did not really want to stay. He did leave slowly enough though to hear Professor McGonagall ask Madam Pomfrey about which students were in the infirmary. She apparently was checking on who he had visited.

Late that night, Draco was unable to sleep, so he went over his notes on his computer until he noted something unusual. Even though it was after curfew, he snuck out of the Slytherin Common Room and into the hallway, sneaking through the castle and up the staircase without being seen. He went straight to the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. Outside and sleeping on the floor he found Neville Longbottom. Draco hesitated to wake him but thought that he should.

"What?"

"Sorry to wake you," he added with an uncertain voice, "but what are you doing sleeping outside of your dorm and on the floor?"

"Oh. Madam Pomfrey released me and said that I could return to my dorm. Yet, when I got here, I realized that I had forgotten the password and the Fat Lady would not let me in. So, I sat down by the entrance, hoping that someone would come by and let me in. I guess I fell asleep."

His falling asleep was obvious. "Hmm, I suppose that was a good plan." Draco then turned to the Fat Lady and asked, "My good lady, could you not have made an exception. After all, Neville just got out of the hospital ward and I am sure you know he tends to forget his password."

"Nope, no exceptions. If you do not know the password, then I will not open the portal."

"Now good lady, someone as beautiful and as kind as you must have soft spot somewhere in that wonderfully big heart of yours for the ones that you faithfully guard." He was putting it on pretty thick, but she seemed to appreciate it. "Someone who is as bright as you must know that my name is Draco, which is short for Draconis or dragon, and as sure as I have a head, I am sure that you know that you faithfully guard Neville, or caput draconis custodiant Neville."

The Fat Lady blinked in surprise, repeated the words "caput draconis" and then opened the portal. She asked, "My good dragon, how do you know latin?"

"Mother taught me a little." He then turned to Neville and asked if he was going to enter.

Neville was so startled by the opening of the entrance into his dorm, that he just stammered as he moved towards the entrance. As he emerged on the other side, he regained his wits and asked, "Why were you here?"

"To help a friend in need."

"But Draco, how did you even know I was here and how DID YOU know the password?" He put much emphasis on the phrase "did you." The password was supposed to be a secret known only to Gryffindor students.

"I am Draco Malfoy, I know many things." He said it with a straight face, but as he turned as if to go, a big grin started to form on his face. He kind of liked saying that. The portal then shut, and he started to walk away. He did not get far when he ran into some older Gryffindor students returning to their dormitory. Because they were much older than him, and because both he and they were out after curfew, he simply said hello to them as he tried to walk by. Yet, they did not allow that.

One of them asked what a Slytherin was doing so close to the Gryffindor dorm so late at night, another said that he was a spy, but the third grabbed his face hard to study it and said, "No, he is Malfoy, the son of a filthy Death Eater. You can bet he is up to no good being in our neck of the woods."

Being held ungently against his will, Draco got scarred. "Please sirs, I have been up to no harm. Honest, you can ask Neville Longbottom; he is a Gryffindor. He was just outside here with me. And I am not the son of a Death Eater. My father was under the Imperius curse."

"Man, this Malfoy brat has good manners for a rat. He called us sirs!"

"He claims to know a Gryffindor, I say we should teach him a lesson on where his filthy Slytherin kind belong."

"Oh, I am planning on teaching him a lesson. My uncle was killed by a Death Eater, and it is time I got my revenge." The one who said that was the one holding him, and he had a most unfriendly look to him.

Thinking fast because he knew his life might be on the line, Draco said, "Now sirs. Please do not do anything stupid or reckless. Neville knows that I am here and the Fat Lady will know when you left and will reenter the dorm. I would hate to see anyone expelled or worse just because we ran into each other this night." He tried to look and sound like he was not afraid, but his voice gave him away by occasionally squeaking. "If I have offended you by being in Gryffindor territory, I will be more than willing to pay for my offense."

"He called us stupid and then tried to bribe us with his bloody Malfoy money!" The scorn in his voice was so thick that Draco was not surprised when he heard, "Incarcerous," and then became tied with ropes. He said nothing hoping that being tied while standing would be his only punishment. He knew his hopes were mistaken when he got the air knocked out of him from a slug so powerful that he was sure that his ribs cracked. "Not saying anything now are you pretty boy." He slugged him again in the same sore place on the side of his chest. "What is the matter? Do not like getting what your Death Eater Daddy gave to others?"

Sucking in air painfully, Draco retorted, "My father did not do anything wrong by choice. He was under the Imperius curse." He had to pause because it was too difficult to breath before adding, "And how much better are you? Using magic on someone who has just gotten his wand and beating someone who is both tied and far smaller than you."

"And far weaker in mind and in body. This is going to be fun!"

"Body yes, but I wonder who Professor McGonagall will say has the weaker mind." Draco meant it as a reminder to not do anything reckless, but he soon regretted saying it.

"Insult me do you? I will correct that. Say goodbye to your pretty face." The bigger boy then punched Draco in the eye so hard that his neck felt like snapping.

"Stop it Jake! That is enough," one of the older boys said.

"It is nothing compared to what my uncle went through." Draco then begged for him to stop, saying that he would do anything if he would stop hurting him. As he begged, he gave up trying to hide his emotions as he out and out cried.

The older boy who had told Jake to stop got between the two of them with his wand. Jake agreed to stop if the others would leave Draco tied up for the night. Draco was unsure if he should be glad or sad when they left. He was left tied up and needed to get to the infirmary.

Immobilized, he considered what to do, knowing that there was little he could do. He was unsure if he wanted to yell for help, fearing that it might bring Jake back. So, he only called for Mr. Filch every once in a while, hoping that the squib would find him during his rounds of the castle. It was not Mr. Filch who found him; rather, it was Harry Potter and Ron Weasley when they returned to their dorm.

"Well, looky here! It is the Malfoy scum who we were supposed to duel with only instead, he tried to sell us out to Filch." Ron came close to Draco's face and grinned evilly at him. "Somebody did us a favor and tied him all up for us. What do you want to do to him first?"

"What are you talking about Weasel?" Draco was feeling too sick to be polite and had in fact forgotten about the wizard's duel.

"We waited for over an hour for you and you never showed. Instead, Mr. Filch came right into the room we were hiding in." Potter was less angry than Weasley, but there was a sinister look in his eye as well. "Tell us why we should not do something horrible to you while you are defenseless Malfoy?"

"Potter please, do not hurt me. I have been hurt enough by you kind Gryffindors." He started out politely enough, but he soon returned to his usual banter with Potter by giving a command. "Untie me and let me go to the infirmary. I realized soon after we said our stupid words to each other about a wizard's duel that I did not know any offensive or defensive spells. Now I was unsure of the Weasel, but I was pretty sure that your muggle family never taught you any spells either, so that the whole wizard's duel was for naught. I just decided not to go and then forgot about it."

Ron looked dumbfounded and angry. Draco guessed that he just realized that he could do little in a wizard's duel either. Yet, he was all action. He grabbed Draco's face around his mouth and squeezed fairly hard. "Is that so. Then explain why Filch showed up instead of you, you lying scum of a Death Eater."

"We have already discussed my father, or have you forgotten, and I need to repeat myself? As for Filch, I did not sell you out. He makes his rounds of the castle after hours, and as Potter said you were waiting for over an hour, my guess is that he happened to come upon you during that hour. Considering that it takes him two to three hours to make an entire round of the castle, the chance of his coming across you was rather high. Do you not agree Weasel?"

Ron said nothing, but he squeezed Draco's face harder until Draco made a sound of pain. Draco appreciated the fact that that was enough to satisfy the ginger blood traitor. Ron let go of Draco's face and asked Harry what he wanted to do. Potter suggested that they had had enough of a night and that they should go to bed. The two Gryffindors then turned to leave. Draco plaintively told them that they could not go, that they had to untie him. Potter turned around and asked, "And why is that?"

"So that I can get to the infirmary."

"Is that a good enough reason for you Ron?" Ron shook his head, saying that he deserved far worse than to be tied for the night. Potter turned back to Malfoy and said, "You should have learned this by now Malfoy. I do not respond well from orders from you." The two Gryffindor's then turned away, walked down the hallway, and entered their dorm through the portal of the Fat Lady. All the while, they ignored Draco's please to release him.

Draco sighed and closed his eyes. He tried to will away the pain in his side and his eye, but it did not help. He decided to try and rest as well as he could. Then, he would resume his sporadic calls for Mr. Filch. Instead, he was greatly surprised to hear someone calling his name. He looked up and saw that it was from the Fat Lady who was in the nearest portrait of a fisherman on a lake. "Draco, would you like me to go and see if I can find Mr. Filch for you."

"You can do that?"

The fisherman said to the Fat Lady, "And you zaid he waz bright. He zeez you in my portrait, and he azkz the dumbezt questionz."

"He is very young."

"Young and dumb. That iz a terrible combination. Are you really going tah help him? I know you are zoft, but he iz not even one you are zuppozed tah protect. And the otherz zaid he waz the zon tah a Death Eater. I'd leave him."

"Do you really want him here making noises all night so that you cannot get any rest?" The fisherman agreed that he did not, so she was off. Draco found that he did have to wait a little while, but the wait was not so bad now that he had the fisherman to talk to. He learned that the fisherman did not like Death Eaters because he had friends who had been killed by them. He had befriended them when they were students at Hogwarts, which to Draco was many years ago, though to the fisherman, it was almost yesterday.


	10. Chapter 10

After a while, Draco heard two people approaching. Mr. Filch had brought Professor McGonagall. "Well, well, well. The Fat Lady was correct. We have a Slytherin out during curfew. It seems somebody caught him and tied him all up for us to find and punish him." He grinned satisfyingly and asked the professor what she would like to do.

She got out her wand and undid the spell that bound him, but asked, "Draco Malfoy, explain what you are doing here after hours."

"I would be happy to, but may I do so while I go to the infirmary? I think I had better check myself in." Draco hoped that he could think of something on the way that would sound reasonable, because he sure could not tell her the entire truth.

She raised an eyebrow and examined his eye, but with her hands instructed him to lead the way. She also thanked Mr. Filch and said that his services were no longer required. Draco thanked the fisherman and told him to thank the Fat Lady. The two then headed for the hospital ward. They did not get far before Professor McGonagall stopped him and told him to raise his shirt on the right side. Upon seeing his bruise and noting his labored breathing, she levitated him and said that she would be taking him to Madam Pomfrey.

"Thank you."

"Who did this to you?" Seeing Draco hesitate, she added, "Beating up another student is not allowed at Hogwarts. What they did to you is grounds for expulsion. We will protect you, but we can do that only if you tell us who did it."

"If I tell you, the next time instead of beating me up, he may kill me. No, I think I do not need anyone else wanting to kill me. So, thank you, I really do appreciate it, but I must decline."

Professor McGonagall looked horrified, but she continued on her way towards the infirmary. "You have had other attempts on your life. How can we better protect you?"

"This beating was not an attempt on my life. I am well protected while I am at Hogwarts. My family's enemies will find it hard to get at me behind Hogwarts' defenses." He then looked at her questioningly and said, "Thank you for your concern though."

"Are there any children from your family's enemies at Hogwarts?"

Draco thought about it. His main enemies were Malfoys, so no to them. Yet, his father had other enemies, most of whom he did not know. They might have children who were attending Hogwarts and might be a concern for him. Yet, his father had said nothing about that. True, his father wanted him to be able to defend himself, but surely, he could not defend himself against an older student. Would not his father have told him if there was a threat at Hogwarts? Draco hoped so, but he felt uneasy about it. "None that I know of. I hope that if there is, that my father has told the school about it." Draco then asked her if his father had said something about there being a threat to him at the school.

"Not to my knowledge, but I will ask the headmaster."

"Thank you."

"You are welcome. Now, before we arrive, will you kindly tell me what you were doing out during curfew and why you were so near the Gryffindor Common Room?"

Draco had been thinking about his reply ever since she first asked it. He decided to tell her as much of the truth as he could without getting into any more trouble, meaning he could not tell her a lot. "I knew that Neville had been released from the infirmary and I wanted to see him." He guessed that she knew he had visited him in the infirmary, so he hoped it sounded believable. It was the truth though it was only a small part of the truth. "If he had gotten any further, I would have missed him." Now that was so little of the truth that it was almost a lie. Neville could not have gotten further because he had forgotten the password. "Fortunately, I caught him right before the entrance into his dormitory." Never mind that he was sound asleep on the floor because he could not get in until Draco had supplied the password. He was unsure what she would think if she knew that a Slytherin knew the password to the Gryffindor dormitory, but he was sure that she would look into how he knew, and he did not want that. No, because if she found out, he would lose a lot of his privileged information.

"Draco, how would you have known when Madam Pomfrey released Neville, for Merlin's sake?"

Draco had expected that. "What difference does it make who told me? I knew, that much is obvious. I promised not to tell." No one actually told him, so that was not true. Yet, he did know, so that was true. And he did promise not to tell, but the promise he made was to himself.

"Hmm, OK. It is not important. I hope you now realize why students are not allowed out of their dorm after curfew." That, Draco had learned very well. He had originally thought it an inconvenient rule, now he understood why it existed. "And I hope you learned something tonight."

"Learned something? You mean that it is dangerous for me to be out after curfew? Yes, I learned that. Or do you mean did I learn that some Gryffindors are dangerous to me?" Jake was an example. "While some will not lift a finger to help." Potty and the Weasel. "And others are concerned and will help me." Professor McGonagall and the Fat Lady. He also learned that the Fat Lady could move into other portraits and get help, but he was sure the professor did not mean that.

The professor looked at him approvingly and then turned him over to Madam Pomfrey. The nurse made him take his shirt off and her first words were, "Yikes! Who did this to you?" Draco said that he could not tell, so she looked closely at his eye. "I can repair both damaged areas, but it will take a while and you will have about the same amount of pain for quite some time. Do you want me to kill the pain?"

"No, I can manage. Except maybe for a little while to let me get to sleep. I assume I will be sleeping here. And can you repair the damage but allow the discoloration to continue for a few days?"

Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall both raised their eyebrows at that. "Yes, Draco. You will be staying here until I release you probably sometime tomorrow morning." She then looked at him questioningly and asked, "May I ask why you want the discoloration of your bruises to continue?"

"So that others may learn from my misfortune."

"You are not planning on retaliation, inter house fighting or anything like that are you?"

"No mam. Nothing like that. I just want a few people to learn from my appearance."

"Yes then. I can repair the damage and leave the discoloration. It will slow the healing a little and the discoloration will fade after two days, but I think that will be about what you want." Draco nodded his head. It was more than he hoped for. It sounded like he might be a little swollen tomorrow. That might help his plans. He would let her heal him, get some rest, think about his schemes, and then put them into play tomorrow.

The next day, he was released from the infirmary to attend his second class. With his swollen and black and blue eye, he got many stares but only his friends asked about him. He would only say that he spent the night in the infirmary. He was pleased when Neville asked about him and pleased that Hermione only asked through Neville. In return, Draco asked about Neville's flying legs.

"I've been reluctant to try."

"Do you think that wise? You will have to fly at our next flying class, and I think you would rather do something embarrassing when no one is around to watch."

"I am afraid Draco."

Draco pursed his lips, he should have guessed that. Yet, he really wanted Neville to try before he was in front of a class. He knew Neville would be worse if he was nervous, and he'd be much more nervous in front of others. "If I fly with you, and we start out really slow and low, would that help?"

Neville looked at the Slytherin in amazement wondering why he was being so nice to him. He had proved to be pretty poor in just about everything, and Draco was just the opposite. And when it came to flying, there was no one who was better at it in their class, except maybe Harry, and Harry was a lot more reckless. No, if he wanted any of his classmates to help him fly, it would be Draco. "OK, what do you want in return?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at Neville. Could he possibly know what his scheming with him was about? Considering how convoluted it was and Neville's naïve nature, he doubted it. "I did not ask for anything, but your friendship would be nice." Partly to change the subject, and partly to keep Neville from thinking about why he wanted to help, Draco suggested that they should practice during the break in their classes. He also suggested that he bring something small that he valued, but something that was not fragile, such as the Remembrall.

Neville was confused about bringing something of value, but when he asked, he agreed with Draco's logic totally.

Though Draco was still sore from his beating, he went flying with Neville during their break that day. Draco surprised himself in being so patient with the goofy Gryffindor. He started low and slow, flew beside him when Neville seemed unsure of himself, and offered encouragement. He even laughed good naturedly when Neville lost control of his broom and offered a suggestion on how to regain control that almost always worked, unlike Madam Hooch who just yelled at him to get back to the ground. Things were going really well, until Potter and Weasley showed up on their brooms. They must have decided to go flying during the break as well.

"Neville, what the heck are you doing out here with that son and heir of a Death Eater? You need to make friends with the right sort, and that ain't a Slytherin or a Malfoy." Draco just frowned at Ron, he could do better than just repeat their earlier conversation. Ron would not be a serious challenge, just an annoyance. Potter on the other hand would prove a challenge.

"Give that back Draco, or I will knock you off your broom!" There was hatred in that shout, though Draco did not know why.

"Cannot you two just leave us to fly in peace? We are not bothering you so why are you bothering us?" He doubted that Potter would listen to reason, but it was worth a try because he really did not want to fight with his wounds still healing. "You can see my eye. It is so colorful and swollen." He then lifted his flying robes and his shirt to reveal his side. It was all black and blue from nearly his armpit to his lowest rib. "As you can see, I am in no mood for fighting." He then looked sharply at Potter and the Weasel, saying, "And when I asked you two noble Gryffindors to untie me last night and allow me to go to the infirmary, you left me alone unable to do anything and to suffer with my wounds. They hurt Potter, they still do."

"I should have let Ron leave such marks on you as well. He wanted to."

"Harry," Ron said with agitation. "You know that is not true. Besides, you saw those bruises! I am not strong enough to make anything like that. They must have come from an upper classman, and a mean one at that."

Draco raised an eyebrow at Ron. He was not as stupid as he had thought. And since when did Ron sympathize with him, a Malfoy? He must have a little of his father in him after all. "If you would have beaten me, then I would have been beaten by two noble Gryffindors last night. Noble Gryffindors who are supposed to defend the weak and helpless, such as a younger boy who was all tied up."

Potter had flown very close to him with his left hand held out as if he expected Draco to hand him the Remembrall. "You got what you deserved. Now give me the ball you thieving Slytherin scum."

Draco pinched his eyebrows sharply at Potter but said nothing. He did not like being called a thieving Slytherin scum and he certainly did not deserve his beating. He decided to ask Neville what he wanted him to do, which proved a big mistake. To talk to Neville, he looked down, taking his eyes off Potter. Potter took the opportunity to collide roughly into him and try and grab the ball. Draco dropped the Remembrall and nearly fell off his broom. He managed to save himself by quickly grabbing onto his broom handle with both hands and spinning his body around the broom, but it hurt his side. Harry cursed at failing to retrieve the Remembrall and dived in pursuit of it.

Hearing all this, Neville finally realized that it was because Draco had come up to the Gryffindor tower to help him that he had been beaten. He had had enough and yelled up, "Harry Potter! What the heck is the matter with you! You leave Draco alone or I am reporting you! All he has done is help me learn to fly, while you almost knocked him off his broom and never helped him get to the infirmary last night. I am sure that Professor McGonagall would not take too kindly to either."

Potter stopped his rapid descent and came level on his broom. He looked at Neville and asked, "What? You want him to steal your Remembrall?"

Draco saw Neville roll his eyes. Apparently, Neville thought that Potter was as thick as Draco thought he was. Draco decided to join Neville on the ground and let the other boy talk to his fellow Gryffindors. "He was not stealing it! He was using it to help me learn how to fly. He was putting it somewhere where I had to fly to retrieve it"

Seeing Draco fly towards Neville, Potter decided to do the same. As he approached, he asked Neville, "If so, then why was he placing it up so high? Why not place it somewhere low where you could have a chance of actually reaching it?"

Neville frowned. Potter had little faith in his housemate's flying skills and was insulting his ability to retrieve the Remembrall. "We started low and easy. Believe it or not Harry, I have worked my way up to flying near where Draco was going to place it."

Potter finally understood how insulting his words were. "Sorry Neville, I did not know."

"It is not me that you need to apologize to." Neville looked at Draco to make his meaning crystal clear.

Draco probably should not have said it, but he just could not help himself. "You appear to not know a lot of things Potter. I offered a solution." Meaning that he was willing to help. However, he never got the chance to say anything further about it.

"I am not apologizing to lowlife."

"Lowlife?" Draco's cheeks got red in anger. "Look who is talking you, you half-blood!" Draco noted with delight that Potter's cheeks became red after being reminded that he was only a half-blood. He had discovered Potter's sore spot, and it was time to put the nails in the coffin. "Unlike you, I am a _pure-blood_ and a _Malfoy,_ " emphasizing the words pure-blood and Malfoy to imply that they were something special. "My family is ancient and is one of the most powerful and wealthy. We were once nobility before the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy came into effect in 1692."

Potter looked sharply at Draco and fumed. "Yes, you are a Malfoy." Draco was not surprised but pleased that Potter chose not to discuss the purity of his blood, only that he was a Malfoy. "I am not apologizing to the scum whose father was a Death Eater and whose family aided in my mother and father's murder." He then turned to Neville and said, "You should realize a Malfoy never does anything unless it benefits him in some way. If this Malfoy is helping you, it is only because he wants something in return."


	11. Chapter 11

Draco moved his head sharply back in shock. Potter hated him because of the death of his parents. That was so unfair! He was only a baby when that happened, and his parents had nothing to do with it. Potter had also deduced in the worst way possible why he had befriended Neville. In anger, Draco threw down his broom, took a few steps towards Potter, and pushed him down onto the grass. Ignoring his own injuries, he then got on top of the other boy, wrestled with him, and used his slightly greater strength and weight to eventually pin Potter's arms to the ground. He then shouted into Potter's face, "I hate you! And I am tired of people holding me responsible for someone dying in the last war!" He was angry, his side hurt, and a single tear fell from his swollen eye. He was breaking all his family's rules to never show emotion in public, but he did not care.

"The feeling is mutual! Now get off of me!"

"Drop dead!"

"Get off me _now_ or you will regret it!"

"I am already regretting touching a lowly half-blood!"

Potter then kneed Draco in the groin so hard that one could hear a thud. Draco let out a moan, released Potter, and rolled over on his uninjured side. He was lying on the ground with his legs bent together towards his head and his hands flexing uncontrollably on the grass. Draco could hear Potter get up and wondered if he would get some more punishment from the so-called noble Gryffindor.

Instead, he heard Weasley come over and tell Potty that they should probably leave before a teacher discovered that they had been fighting. He also told Potter to not get so upset, as it was only Malfoy. "And you really went too far this time mate."

"Too far! I warned him! He deserved it!"

"Maybe so, but he never actually hurt you. Now did he?" That was unexpected. The Weasel was trying to reason with Potty. That was like trying to reason with an injured dragon. "Considering how badly beat up he was and that we did not untie him last night, I do not think that any teacher is going to have any sympathy with you right now."

"I do not have any sympathy with you right now," Neville said sounding annoyed. "You should have never flown over to us. Now go." It was an order and it sounded like he would not accept anything less. Potter and Weasley left while Neville came over to him and asked if he was OK. What a question. He was on the ground in the fetal position, of course he was not OK. Yet, there was nothing that Neville could do, and Draco appreciated the concern. He was actually glad that the Gryffindor was there. While he was helpless and all emotional, he did not want to be alone. And although he found it odd, he actually trusted Neville. Here he was a Slytherin and a Malfoy, and he was putting his trust in a Gryffindor. How strange. "Is there anything I can do for you."

"No Neville, although I would appreciate it if you would just stay with me for a while." He did not say that he did not want to be alone or that he felt helpless at the moment. That would be showing weakness and a Malfoy was never supposed to show weakness, though Draco doubted that Neville would ever try to take advantage of his weakness. Maybe that was why he trusted this Gryffindor. Then a thought occurred to him, Neville was a Gryffindor! "Actually Neville, there is something you can do for me." Neville said that he was listening. "I have to talk to Jake, an older Gryffindor tonight. Would you come with me? Being a Gryffindor and Neville Longbottom will make you the perfect witness and moral support that I need." Draco wondered about how clever he was. Neville Longbottom of all people would be his moral support. If Jake knew anything about the Malfoy heir, he would have to know the significance of Neville Longbottom.

"Yes," he said without hesitation.

"Hmm. Before you say yes, I think you should know more. Namely, I do not know how safe it will be to talk to this Gryffindor." He frowned and paused before adding, "Though I will let Professor McGonagall know, and I am sure you will be safer than I will be, I still cannot guarantee your safety."

Neville sighed. "You do not need to explain. Why else would Draco Malfoy need to bring a witness and a Gryffindor to talk to an older Gryffindor? You are going to try and talk to the student who beat you up, aren't you?" Neville looked at him like he was unsure if he was stupidly brave or just crazy. Draco just nodded his head which was pretty tricky since he was lying on his side on the grass. "What are you hoping to accomplish?"

Neville's intelligence caught him by surprise. Most of his classmates, including Draco until now, thought that Neville was not very bright and not very gifted at magic. His ability to figure out what Draco was up to with very little information certainly indicated that he was bright when he applied himself. Maybe his real trouble was not his intelligence or magical ability, but rather his lack of confidence in himself so that he seldom applied himself. And his lack of confidence might be because he had lost his parents when he was just a baby. "I am hoping to convince him that I am not as bad as he thinks. Hopefully, he will hate me less so that he will lose the urge to beat me up every time he sees me."

"And the only reason he hates you is because his uncle was killed by a Death Eater and he thinks your father was a Death Eater?" Draco nodded his head. He never had told Neville all of it, but he had correctly put the pieces together.

Halfway through dinner, Draco went up to Neville and asked him to accompany him to talk to Jake. The older Gryffindor was sitting down the table from Neville. Many people noted this and thought it strange that a young Slytherin went up to a young Gryffindor at dinner, and together then went to an older Gryffindor. It was strange enough for many to watch, and Draco was pleased to note that Professor McGonagall was one of those watching. He did not want to tell her anything directly, but he wanted her to be suspicious that Jake might be the one who beat him up. He needed her suspicion to help convince Jake to never beat him again, but he did not want to tell her directly for fear that Jake would retaliate and hate him even more. Draco and Neville asked to talk privately sometime and someplace of Jake's choosing. Jake initially hesitated, but agreed, telling them to meet him outside by the lake one half an hour before curfew. Draco and Neville agreed and then returned to their original positions at their dinner tables.

A little before the appointed meeting time, Draco showed up outside the Gryffindor Common room, asking for Neville. While he was waiting, he thanked the Fat Lady for getting him help after he had been beaten up. As he was talking, Hermione showed up and asked what he was doing.

"I am thanking the Fat Lady."

She smiled at him slyly and said, "So, it is true. You have even charmed the Fat Lady."

Draco looked at her confused. "What are you getting at?"

"I have heard that I should beware of Slytherins who like to charm people."

Draco blinked and said, "OK." He really did not care if she should beware of him or not.

The Fat Lady laughed. "Young Gryffindor lass! You do not need to fear the charms of this one, at least for several years. And even then, I suspect that his concerns about blood purity will prevent him from doing anything improper, much to your loss." She then winked at Hermione. "Yet, I'd do anything improper with a boy so young and good looking. And why do you fear his charming me? That I would allow him into the sanctuary of the Gryffindor dormitory without his speaking the password? He may look like an angel, but he could never charm me enough!" She laughed and winked at Draco.

Draco's cheeks turned all red. Several issues had been brought up that he did not wish to discuss.

"Hmm," Hermione thought. She noted that the Fat Lady was doing more than flirt with Draco. No, she had passed him a message, but she did not understand it. "Anyway, that is not what I meant. Draco, why are you here?"

"Oh. I am waiting for Neville." He was glad for the change in conversation. The previous conversation had made him uncomfortable. "We are supposed to meet someone in a few minutes."

"Well, if you are waiting, why do you not come in with me and sit in our common room?"

"Are you sure it will be OK?" Draco already had one bad experience with Gryffindors, he did not want another.

"Yes, as long as I invite you in. Besides, you will not be staying long." She then whispered the password to open the portal so that Draco could not hear it. Draco followed her inside. The Gryffindor Common Room was much warmer and more hospitable than the Slytherin Common Room. Seeing a large fire, Draco moved towards it until he noted the Weasel and Potter glaring at him.

Ron asked Hermione why she let a Slytherin in with her. He suggested that she should have shut the portal on his snake-like face. As she explained why she had let Draco in, he just went and sat by the door. He knew when he was not wanted, and he did not want to cause a scene. He had not been sitting long before the Weasley twins came and stood by him.

"Aw, look Fred, our little brother has made the baby Malfoy feel unwanted."

"Yes George, I suppose that is why he went and sat by the door." Both brothers had a mischievous grin on their faces that gave Draco an uncomfortable feeling. They then grabbed his arms and legs, picked him up into the air, moved him several feet away from the couch by the door, and started swinging him back and forth. Let us make him feel properly unwanted by throwing him out the portal!" Their grins were purely evil.

"Please!" Draco begged. His muscles went as stiff as a board, though he did not fight or resist in any way the hold of the Weasley twins. "Please, do not hurt me! I will leave, I'll do anything you want, and I'll even pay you." His voice almost broke into a frightened cry as he begged, "Just do not hurt me!"

The mischievous smiles disappeared from both boy's faces as slight frowns appeared instead. Their swinging of Draco lessened and slowed, though it still continued. "Oh! Your ugly face, George, must have frightened him. What should we do?" His voice sounded unsure of himself.

Ron said, "Baby Malfoy! That is appropriate because he is such a spoiled baby!"

Harry Potter shouted, "Throw him out! Throw him out!"

George ignored them all and said almost tenderly to Draco, "Aw. We were not going to hurt you. We were only going to throw you on the couch. Why are you so jumpy?" He was clearly only trying to tease the smaller boy and was more confused than his twin.

Draco relaxed his muscles a bit and answered, "Because I am still healing from my beating. Even throwing me against the couch will hurt. If you do not believe me, just look underneath the right side of my shirt." He was talking to both boys, but he looked at Fred at the end.

George snickered and said something about the Baby Malfoy flirting with Fred again. Yet, Fred who was up near Draco's head looked into his swollen black and blue right eye. Fred told his brother to put him down and then lifted his shirt, revealing an awful looking humongous bruise over his right side. Several people in the common room made exclamations about it, including Hermione and George. George commented that that explained why Draco was so jumpy. George also asked if he could touch it.

Draco looked bewildered, but agreed, as long as he was gentle. George then reached out and gently touched Draco's undamaged skin near his belly button. "Oh, it is so ugly! This smooth, pale, and unblemished skin is as worthless as silk! Would you like my brother and I to turn this ugly skin into a match for your much cooler and colorful black and blue skin? It would be such an improvement that we would accept payment for it." His mischievous grin had returned as had the grin on Fred. George then moved his fingers to touch Draco's belly button.

"Aw! You got to touch the Baby Malfoy's belly button! That is not fair!" Fred pouted his lips to make it look like he had unjustly been deprived of something he needed. "Can I touch your belly button?" he asked in a whimsical way. He looked sharply into Draco's eyes, but his curious grin confirmed that he was being silly.

"No!" Draco frowned, pulling George's hand away from himself and pulling his shirt down to cover his side and belly. He would never understand the craziness of Fred and George. Though he could admit to himself that he was attracted to the attention that they were giving him. If only they were not so weird.

"He obviously likes me better than you. But then again, who would not?" The two twins then started laughing at each other and went to the far side of the room. After that, Neville appeared and asked Draco if he was sure he wanted to meet Jake at the lake.

Harry Potter heard it and asked Neville, "Are you sure you want to go down to the lake alone in the dark with this dark Slytherin? I do not think it safe." Ron Weasley just laughed at Harry's comment, but no one else did.

Neville answered with a frown, "I am much more worried about the Gryffindor we will be meeting than this _dark_ Slytherin." The way he said the word dark indicated that he did not care for that description of Draco.

"What do you mean by calling me a dark Slytherin? I will have you know that I do not know any dark spells and my wand is the hardest to turn to dark magic?" Draco was put out by people assuming that he was a young dark wizard. What had he ever done to demonstrate that he was a dark wizard?

"You are a Malfoy are you not? The Malfoy's have throughout history practiced the Dark Arts have they not? You are a Slytherin are you not? And every wizard who has gone bad has been in House Slytherin, have they not? Who cares about your damn wand! Just because it is the most difficult to turn to the dark does not mean that you will not be able to turn it." There was a little hatred in Potter's voice as he made those accusations. Draco noted that Potter must have been looking into the Malfoy family history, though he only found what he wanted to find. It was telling that he had looked. Potter was clearly showing unusual interest in him, almost to the point of being obsessed. Draco was unsure if that was good or bad.

Draco noted that Hermione was looking uncomfortable. She probably had not expected such coldness between Draco and Harry and Ron. She probably wished to say something, but she knew that she could not reveal her secret friendship with him. So, probably she was unsure about what to do and resorted to saying nothing. Neville, on the other hand, probably resorted to saying nothing simply because that was what Neville often did.

"My family has not always practiced dark magic." That was almost a lie, but surely there were a few, and besides, Draco had not practiced dark magic. At least not yet. "There also have been wizards who have gone bad who have not been Slytherin, as well as many good wizards. Merlin was a Slytherin. And I care about my wand." How could Potter think otherwise?

"You always mention Merlin to promote your house. Merlin must be the only good wizard who came out of House Slytherin. I challenge you to name one dark wizard who was not a Slytherin."

Potter looked rather smug and Draco wanted to knock that smugness from his face. "I mention Merlin a lot because he was the most powerful and famous wizard of all time." He thought, even more famous than you Potter. "Merlin came from Slytherin, as did Horace Slughorn – a Former Potions professor at Hogwarts, The Bloody Baron – the Slytherin House ghost, Phineas Nigellus Black – a Former Headmaster of Hogwarts and an ancestor of mine, and Cornelius Fudge - the Minister of Magic. And as for one dark wizard who was not a Slytherin, how about Sirius Black."

Potter and Ron got blank looks on their faces. Neither one had expected a comeback from Draco. "He has you there mate," Ron said gloomily.

"Who the heck was Sirius Black?"

Draco just rolled his eyes at Potter. The-Boy-Who-Lived really needed so much help it was surprising that he had lived, only he was not wise enough to know it. It was Hermione who informed Potter that Sirius was the man who betrayed Harry Potter's parents allowing the Dark Lord to kill them. For this crime, Sirius was sent to Azkaban Prison for life. (For those who do not know, at this time, only Sirius knew that the real betrayer of the Potters was Peter Pettigrew.)

Draco had had enough of this mind-numbing conversation; besides, he wanted to go and meet Jake. So, he asked Neville if they could leave. As they left, Hermione wished them well while Ron shouted out the portrait, "Are you still singing soprano Draco?" It was a cheap parting shot, but he must have been planning to say it since they had last met.

Draco glared back at him. "Weasel, despite how intellectually stimulating this conversation has been, I really do have to meet one of your noble Gryffindors. He was the one who despite being many years older and more powerful in magic than I, tied me up with a spell and beat me to a pulp. Despite my needing to go to the infirmary afterwards, you do remember leaving me tied up, don't you?" Draco pulled up his shirt to emphasize his awful beating. "And for your information, I am eleven. I will be singing soprano at least until I enter puberty." With that he left in scorn.

(Note: Harry is coming across as pretty negative because I want to make it difficult for Draco to try and become a friend.)


	12. Chapter 12

On their way to the lake, Draco noted that Neville was more quiet than usual, which was saying a lot because he was generally pretty quiet. He also appeared rather unhappy. In thinking over what he had said, Draco realized that Neville may have been hurt by one of his comments. "Neville, I do think that there are some noble Gryffindors. Thanks for coming." He did not say it, but implied that he thought very highly of Neville. He then reached out and touched his friend's hand to show his appreciation. "Your coming with me is rather brave and a Gryffindor thing to do." Foolish, but very much like a Gryffindor.

The meeting with the older Gryffindor went better than either boy expected. Neville commented afterwards as they were returning to the castle that Draco had made a friend out of an enemy. Draco doubted that he had made a friend, but at least the older boy had lost his hatred for him and was willing to give him a chance. He knew that it was because of Neville, and he told his friend so.

"Oh, I did nothing."

"Not so Neville. It was only because of your friendship that he was willing to give me a chance." Draco paused and looked at his friend in wonder. He had never expected that benefit when he had set out to befriend Longbottom. "Thanks again. And I am _really sorry_ about what my aunt and uncle did." He emphasized the phrase: really sorry. "I always wanted to tell you, but I did not know how to bring it up." He looked down at his feet a little sheepishly.

Neville sighed. It appeared he was not eager to talk about the topic either. "You were afraid that Jake would succeed in turning me against you, weren't you?" When Draco asked who Jake was, Neville nodded his head as if he had forgotten something and said it was the older boy that they had just met.

"Yes, Neville. I was afraid how you might react if you knew how related I was to … to … those who did that to your parents." Draco found that he had trouble talking about it even now. Neville had reacted much better to finding out who he was than he had thought possible. "I never wanted to bring it out during our meeting, that is for sure."

"Your fears were unfounded. I knew you were their nephew the second time we met. If I had not been so upset about Trevor, I would have figured it out sooner. I learned everything about them, including who their family were. I expected that all their relatives, including you, would have been my enemies. Yet, I knew that any boy who had been so nice as to help me find my frog could not be anything like them."

"Thanks. You are very kind and forgiving. That is why our meeting went so well. Oh sure, I can talk smoothly, but it was you who convinced him. When he saw that you knew who I was and still liked me, he decided to give me a chance to prove myself. Otherwise, I was just someone he would have beat up on sight."

"Hmm. I think your asking him to obliviate you helped some, as did your showing him your bruises." Neville had an odd look on his face after saying that, but Draco did not understand it. "Anyway, you owe me one, and I owe you at least three. But who counts among friends." Neville ended with a smile and Draco smiled back. Draco liked the sound of what he had heard. It even made him feel slightly guilty for the reason he had so desperately wanted to be friends with Neville. All in all, his plans were going rather well. Now, if only he could get through his meeting with his father later tonight.

Draco was studying in his common room when the expected summons from the headmaster came. He did not particularly like studying in the Slytherin Common Room, it was too cold, too dark, and too noisy for his tastes. Yet, it was after hours, he needed to catch up on his studying, and he had no better place to study, so he decided to get some in while he waited. What he did not expect was Professor McGonagall to summon and escort him to the headmaster's office. He had wanted some quiet time to go over what he would say. Instead, he had to answer questions and defend his actions to the person who knew the most about what had happened the night he had been beaten up. Gosh, meeting the headmaster and his father would be bad enough. Why did it have to be Professor McGonagall? Sometimes he could not get a break.

When Draco walked into the headmaster's office, he found both Professor Dumbledore and his father frowning. Apparently, they had not come to an agreement on something. Dumbledore was sitting and looking down at his desk looking like he wished the meeting was already over. His father was pacing between the desk and the door, trying unsuccessfully to get the headmaster to see his reasoning. That changed when Draco walked in and cheerfully greeted both adults. Draco figured that he had better start off on a good note because he doubted that the meeting would end on one.

His father immediately looked at him, focused on his injured eye, and looked as if he had gone into shock. He grabbed his son's face with one hand and moved it to get a better look at it. He then asked Draco to lift his shirt so that he could see his injured side and ribs. "My God! You allow your students to do things like that to my son?" The question was mostly a barbed statement intended for Professor Dumbledore. "And this is after Madam Pomphrey has healed him? Why could she not have done more?"

"I assure you Lucius, we do not allow our students to engage in such activities as you see before you." He said it robotically, as if he had repeated it many times before. "Yes, he has been healed. Curiously, she refrained from healing the appearance of the bruises and swellings at your son's request, though the damage itself has been healed to the best of her abilities. I am unsure why your son desired to keep the appearance of the bruises and swellings, but you may ask him yourself." He then turned his frown from Lucius Malfoy to Draco. "If any of my staff had been present, they would have stopped your sons beating and dealt with it. Because none of us were present, we were unable to prevent it and are unable to take any action without your son's cooperation." The headmaster then glared at Draco.

"Maybe my son would be more cooperative if you would guarantee his protection by promising to expel the offending delinquent Gryffindor!" Lucius was starting to raise his voice in anger, but so far, his anger was only directed at Dumbledore.

"Personally, I think the offending student was a clever Slytherin who wanted to make it look like he was from Gryffindor. I assure you that I and the offender's head of house will determine the appropriate punishment once we learn the identity of the culprit.

"That fails to instill much confidence in me." Lucius who was still near his son turned to look at him. He held his son's chin in his hand and looked him in his swollen eye and asked, "Does it instill much confidence in you my heir?"

What a time for dad to get sentimental! "Well, father, I would rather no one would get punished?"

He knew things would not go easy after hearing all three adults ask, "What?" He tried to make them understand that he had solved the problem himself, but no one would believe him. It seemed as if no one was even listening. His father demanded that Dumbledore find the culprit and expel him, Dumbledore demanded that both Malfoys cooperate with the school, McGonagall demanded that Draco tell everyone all that he knew. They were all so busy arguing with each other that Draco just sat down in a chair, shut his eyes, and tried to get some rest. That ended when his father roughly shook him and asked him why he had not turned the culprit in to the headmaster.

Draco yawned before answering, "Because I cannot. I do not know who tied me and beat the living daylight out of me."

His father asked incredulously, "What do you mean? You just told us not more than 10 minutes ago that you had talked to the boy and had solved the problem. If you knew who to talk to, then surely you can point him out to a school employee."

"Hmm," Draco said in answer. "That does seem strange, I do admit. Yet I assure you, I cannot point the boy out because I do not know who he is or what he looks like." Draco suddenly realized he was even unsure why he thought the culprit was a boy.

"Oh, for heaven's sake," his father said losing his patience. "Enough! Legilimens." With that, he delved into Draco's mind searching for the identity of the boy who beat his son. Dumbledore protested, saying that the school had a policy of protecting the sanctity of a person's private thoughts and memories. Lucius ignored him and dug deeper and deeper into Draco's mind. As he dug deeper, Draco became increasingly less comfortable having his father in his head. Finally, his father pulled out and said, "I do not believe it. Someone very skilled in Obliviate has erased all of my son's memories of who he was." The headmaster thought that very strange because the school rarely taught the spell, and only in exceptional cases. Though some students learned it outside of school and occasionally taught it to a few of their classmates. Lucius then questioned if perhaps an instructor of the school had performed the spell on his son, causing another round of arguing.

Draco closed his eyes and started to rest. This time, he was able to rest for a long time, though there was a lot of noise and acrimony. Finally, his father shook him out of his resting and demanded that he show the other's his awful bruises. It was to make some sort of a point, but as Draco had not been paying attention, he was unsure what the point was. He was soon left alone and ignored again. Unable to go back to a resting state, Draco walked a bit around the headmaster's office. Seeing a sleeping portrait that he thought he recognized, he approached and studied it. "Phineas Nigellus Black. Now I know why you look familiar, you are in a portrait of one of the bedrooms of the house of my Great Aunt Walburga Black."

Phineas, was sleeping despite the noise of the meeting. Draco looked about the room. Upon looking up, he spied the Sorting Hat sitting atop a shelf that was probably a bookshelf. He walked over to it and looked about to see if anyone was paying any attention to him. When it was apparent that they were not, he reached up, grabbed the hat and put it on. He thought, "Hello hat. I want to ask you to release me from my promise to try and befriend Potter."

"No," the hat thought back.

"But, I have tried really hard, and Potter is impossible."

"Knocking Potter down, getting on top of him, and shouting that you hate him was not trying. You promised on your word as a Malfoy that you would try and befriend Harry Potter if I placed you in Slytherin. I have kept my side of the bargain; I will hold you to yours."

"Potter is impossible to befriend! He hates me because his parents got killed when I was a baby!"

"Hmm," the hat said and then went silent for a while. It could see from the boy's mind that he was telling the truth. The hat began slowly as if it needed Draco to see its reasoning. "If you want to make your son's life more pleasant and easier, despite his being born a Malfoy, you will need to make one more real attempt. Potter does not know it, but he could use your friendship too. So, I will help you gain Potter's trust. Starting with your mother and then going back in time, look up all the unmarried names of the woman who have married into the Malfoy main line. You can stop when you find something that will help you befriend Harry Potter."

"What?" he asked confused. Just then, the Sorting Hat was torn off his head and put back up on the shelf by a wrinkled old hand. Dumbledore glared unpleasantly at him and muttered something about it not being a toy. He also told him to sit down and to not touch anything unless he was given permission from his father and headmaster. Draco just sat down and sulked, wondering how his female ancestors could help him befriend stupid old Saint Potter.

Several days later, as Draco's bruises were almost healed, he walked out of the Slytherin Common Room one night and into a loud commotion. At first, he could not see what was going on because so many students were blocking his view. Terence Higgs saw him and shouted, "Draco! We caught a mudblood spying on us! Would you like to get in on teaching this Hufflepuff a lesson?" With that, he pulled the smaller blond boy forward to the front of the commotion.

Draco quickly realized that the Slytherins in the center of the commotion were second and third year students. And they were asking him and him alone of the first years present to help in teaching the mudblood spy a lesson. Not only was it an honor, but it would help cement his relationship in the circle of leaders among the older Slytherins. Draco really desired that. He was, of course, one of the main leaders of the first year Sytherins, but despite all his efforts, he had obtained only modest success for such a position among the older students. Now he had been handed a golden opportunity to obtain the position that he deserved.

Standing at the front of the commotion, Draco could see that Justin Finch-Fletchley, a muggle-born first-year Hufflepuff, was being accosted by a number of second and third year Slytherins. They were taunting him by calling him a mudblood and a spy, pushing him around, and casting all kinds of jinxes and hexes upon him. Draco knew few offensive spells, but he took out his wand knowing that his task would be easy. The young Hufflepuff was helpless because he was smaller and weaker than his assailants, and because he knew no defensive spells to counter the spells thrown against him.

Draco pointed his wand at Justin and prepared to fire. Upon hearing the defenseless boy

moan in pain from the Toe Biter Jinx, the Stinging Jinx, and the Twitchy-Ears Hex, Draco hesitated and lowered his wand a bit. Seeing Draco's action, the other spell casters stopped and loudly encouraged him to fire. Draco raised his wand arm, pointed it at Justin's head, and saw Justin cover his head with his arms in a futile attempt to protect himself. Perhaps it was the way Justin's eyes looked at him before he covered his head, perhaps it was his slight whimper knowing that he was about to be struck and was powerless to do anything about it, perhaps it was Draco's own experience of being the victim of a senseless attack. Whatever the reason, Draco got a sick feeling in his stomach and decided to act. He moved forward, stood with the hapless boy, and demanded that they leave him alone. He was burning his opportunity to become a leader of the older Slytherins, but he no longer cared. He hoped that his fellow housemates would stop their spell casting for fear of hitting him. Not that they would fear him, but as Slytherins, they would fear his father. The spell casting did stop, but not the shoving and insults. In fact, several pair of hands started pulling him away until he shouted, "Leave us alone! Or I will tell my father and I know your names!" It was not an empty threat.

That last sentence got Justin's assailants to stop and ponder. It appeared to cause them great confusion and trepidation. They asked Draco why he was defending a mudblood and a spy. Draco retorted in disdain, "I am not defending a mudblood and a spy. I am defending a classmate of mine and a fellow student at Hogwarts."

Terrence was the one present who knew him the best, and he was not afraid to challenge Draco. "He's still a mudblood, and what was he doing spying around our dormitory?"

Draco thought about saying something about Justin's not being able to choose his parents but decided to skip it because it was not an argument he was certain he could win. Instead, he asked, "What is there to spy on outside of our common room?" As expected, no one could answer him. It was an empty hallway with a few portraits, nothing worth spying for. A few did answer that Justin was away from his house and was in Slytherin territory. Draco then asked Justin why he was away from his own house.

"I was just exploring the dungeon. Nothing more, honest."

"That sounds reasonable to me." Draco then turned and looked at every one of Justin's tormentors before asking, "If Justin leaves now and promises to not come back, will you leave **_us_** alone?" Seeing no one dissent, Draco ignored the fact that only Terrence consented and shepherded Justin back towards his own dorm room. Draco intended to stay with the young Hufflepuff to assure his safety.

Justin tried to say something right away, but Draco shushed him till they were further from the others. When they had gone beyond eavesdropping, Justin gave his thanks and said he would be eternally grateful. Draco answered that it was nothing. Although the Slytherins had been mean, they had done no permanent harm, and they had fortunately caved in easily. Justin knew better. They had caved in easily only because it was a Malfoy who had opposed them. Justin expressed his thanks again and stated that he was frankly surprised that the rich, pure-blooded Malfoy had saved him, a muggle-born.

Draco frowned at the reminder that he would rather forget. Justin Finch-Fletchley had been born and raised by wealthy muggles, and even he had heard of the Malfoy reputation and believed it. That the Malfoy's were heartless, only interested in themselves and their wealth, lived openly in society but tended to the dark side, and only cared for pure-bloods. Perhaps Potter had a point, maybe a Malfoy should not be trusted until he or she had proved themselves trustworthy. It did appear that his son would have to confront the Malfoy reputation and suffer because of it. "Well, I hope to change the bad reputation that the Malfoy's have." This caused Justin to twitch as he appeared to realize that he had said more than he intended. "After seeing the injustice of my fellow Slytherins attacking you, I was reminded of my own brush with injustice." He then pointed to his eye and cocked his head to give the Hufflepuff a better view. He still had slight yellow ring around what had once been a very black eye.

Justin smiled. "I had heard about your attack." And of course, he had probably seen it. How could a person attend classes with someone and not notice the black and blue bruises on what had once been a very pale cream-colored skin. "And I see how my incident was not much in comparison to yours." He looked at the blond as if he had just noticed something, but what it was, Draco was unsure.

"Everything is relative." Draco was getting a bit unnerved by Justin's staring at him. He feared that he would ask him to be a friend. Draco, as a Malfoy, could not have a muggle-born as a friend, though he was not opposed to having a secret friendship. Yet, he found secret relationships to be so difficult that he was not eager to establish another. He would rather just be on good terms with the mudblood. Heck, his fellow Slytherins would likely make him suffer for sticking up for Justin, he did not need them hounding him for being friends with a mudblood. Wanting to move on to another subject, he suggested, "Perhaps you can show me around the dungeon in your area. I have never explored the Hufflepuff side of the dungeon before." Justin agreed, saying it was the least he could do.


	13. Chapter 13

As they approached the Hufflepuff dormitory, four older Hufflepuffs took notice of them. They were two girls and two boys who looked to be about fourth year students. One of them, a boy, moved behind them while the three others confronted them. "Looky here. A newbie Hufflepuff walking hand in hand with a Slytherin." Never mind that they were not walking hand in hand together. The girl had black curly hair, a dark complexion, and her dark eyes glared at Justin sharply as she called him a traitor.

Draco did not know why she was calling Justin a traitor, but he figured that it did not matter. He also figured that he should probably just leave before things got worse. As he turned to leave, he heard, "He's worse than a traitor!" a boy said. "He's brought the filthy enemy to us. I say we teach them a lesson!"

"I'm going," he said not bothering to turn and speak to them.

"No, he is not a filthy enemy! He is a filthy dark Slytherin." That got Draco to stop. He wondered why people always assumed he was a dark wizard. He was a first-year student at Hogwarts with a unicorn hair core for a wand for crying out loud. How could he possibly be a dark wizard? With heated cheeks, he turned around and glared at the girl who had called him a filthy dark Slytherin. She was a pretty thing with silky black hair and large Asian eyes. She was the smallest, but she looked the oldest of the four. "I hear they call this one the baby Malfoy, and he is the son of a Death Eater," she said with loathing in her voice. She grabbed Draco's chin and moved it ungently to face away from her. "My aunt's second cousin once removed was killed by a Death Eater, so you are mine!" As she released him, the way she looked at him sent a shiver down his spine. Draco had seen that look the night he got beat up.

Draco deeply regretted not leaving as he had planned. He was a bit angry at what they were saying but knew better than to say anything that would raise the tension. "Please," Draco begged. He was a Malfoy and hated to beg, but he knew he was in trouble. "I have not done anything wrong. I am sorry for the loss of your aunt's second cousin once removed, hopefully I got that right. As for my father, he was not a Death Eater by choice as he was under the Imperius Curse. I will leave right now." As he said his last sentence, he bolted as fast as he could towards the Slytherin dormitory. He was stopped cold as the boy who had gotten behind him grabbed him and picked him up off the floor. Draco could easily kick the young man, but he did not want to do anything that would anger the group more than they already were. Besides, he was sure that the older students could easily inflict ten times the pain that he could. Not knowing what else to do, he yelled for help.

Justin who had been immobile trying to understand what was happening finally got the nerve to act. He got between Draco and the three Hufflepuffs in front of him and shouted, "Stop! This boy defended me against some Slytherins who were attacking me. He only came here to ensure that I arrived safely." Looking between them all and unsure what to do, he yelled, "He's my friend and I will not let you hurt him!"

The second girl with the black silky hair said, "Understood traitor. Take this," as she shot him with a spell from her wand that Draco did not hear or know. Justin was thrown against the wall so hard that he moaned and crumpled to the floor. Draco gulped loudly and tried to run, but his feet were up in the air.

"Impressive," the boy who held him said to the black-haired girl. "Will you give me a kiss if I slug this one for you?" Draco frowned. He did not enjoy people using him in their flirting, especially if it involved pain on his part. Yet, he said nothing as the boy who held him did not seem to hate him. Unfortunately, the boy seemed to have no objection to hurting him as long as he got a kiss out of it.

"No! I do not kiss boys who are younger than me!"

"But I am only a year younger. Besides, I have your prize," he said with a grin. He looked Draco in the eye and winked at him. "Surely the baby Malfoy is worth something to you." Draco moaned. He should have stayed in bed today.

"Drop him or you will suffer his pain along with him." She was direct and knew what she wanted. Draco closed his eyes in submission. This girl was so dead on hurting him that she was even threatening a boy who liked her enough to flirt with her simply because he was holding him. Draco then felt the boy who was holding him drop him as he began to fall. He let himself fall to the floor without trying to catch himself. That way, he would at least avoid any injuries from hitting the ground when he was attacked. Not that it mattered, because the spell that was used against him was the Cruciatus Curse. If he could have thought, he would have thought that as most unlikely because that spell was not taught at Hogwarts and was also a spell beyond most of the students. Of course, at the moment he could not think because he felt a pain so intense, so all-consuming, that he no longer knew where he was or cared. It was as if white-hot knives were stabbing him everywhere and his whole body could feel nothing but unbearable pain. He wreathed in pain for what seemed an eternity but was only a second or two.

"Protego," was shouted clearly and the pain suddenly stopped. Draco looked up and saw a good-looking boy approaching him with his wand elevated and radiating power. The boy was older than Draco but younger than the students who were tormenting him. He had a very round face with bushy eyebrows and a cowlick that made a shape on his forehead that reminded Draco of the wings of an angel. That was appropriate because this angel was protecting him with the shield charm.

"Cedric, why are you aiding this darkest Slytherin? He is so evil he deserves worse than he is getting!"

Cedric did not respond. Instead he quickly stepped besides the prostrate blond boy and into his own shield charm. From there, no one could touch either him or Draco. However, Justin feebly responded, "He is not dark or evil." He moaned a little before adding, "He defended me from some older Slytherins. Please do not hurt him! He is my friend!"

Surprised by this, Draco looked over to see that Justin was still on the floor up against the wall. As he was not facing Draco, it was apparent from his request that he did not know that Draco was under a shield charm. Cedric must also have come to that conclusion, as he told Justin not to worry. His friend was protected. Cedric then turned to the older Hufflepuffs and told them that they should leave.

One of Draco's assailants suggested that they should leave; however, the girl with the black silky hair refused to go. She said that Cedric could not keep up his spell indefinitely, and that she needed to punish the evil pure-blood.

"Oh yes I can Aurora," Cedric replied. Draco figured Aurora must be the name of the silky dark-haired girl. "And why are you so bent on punishing the baby Malfoy? According to Justin, _our fellow housemate_ , Malfoy is neither dark nor evil." Cedric put a heavy emphasis on Justin being a fellow housemate, probably because he thought it was his strongest argument. "Since he takes classes with him, he should know Draco better than any of us. In fact, this pure-blood Slytherin appears to have befriended and defended a muggle-born from our house. That is pretty outstanding in my book."

"They lie! Draco and his family killed my aunt's second cousin once removed in the Wizarding War. He must learn that he will be punished for such crimes!"

"A lot of people died in that war! So, it is hardly surprising that you lost someone so distantly related to you so long ago. Get over it!" Cedric was almost losing his patience. Nonetheless, he continued to try and reason with his advisories. "And Draco was only a baby or not even born when that happened! How can you hold him responsible for something he obviously could not have done?"

"Thank you," Draco squeaked. He was a little unnerved, but he greatly appreciated someone defending him with the obvious.

Cedric then told them that they should leave because he had sent a memo by paper airplane to Professor Sprout explaining what was going on outside the Hufflepuff Common Room. Professor Sprout was the head of Hufflepuff House and as such would be the closest school employee to the altercation. This got the four older students arguing among themselves, with some of them wanting to leave.

"What was that about a Cruciatus Curse?" Professor Sprout and a number of other students had arrived and overheard some of the arguing. Upon seeing wands drawn, two first year boys sprawled on the floor, and two behind a Shield Charm, Professor Sprout immediately took out her wand. "Everybody put away your wands! Now!" She shouted. Draco was not happy about that. He liked being behind a shield charm. He was relieved and somewhat surprised that no one challenged her authority as everyone put away their wands. Perhaps they feared an angry mild-mannered professor. He of course had never taken his out. It seemed pointless as he knew no defensive spells.

As Professor Sprout tried to figure out what had happened, one of the students, Ernie Macmillan, came over to his friend Justin who was still sprawled on the floor. Concluding that Justin had been attacked, he asked, "What did Draco do to you?" Draco was, of course, the only student present who was not from Hufflepuff. Never mind that Draco was also on the floor.

What an insult! "Why do people always assume that I am the one responsible whenever something bad happens!" He made some noises of indignation as he stood and said that he attacked no one. He then attempted vigorously to get the dust off his robes. This caused Cedric to laugh in amusement at the younger boy. Professor Sprout asked if what Draco said was true.

Looking first to the professor, Cedric answered, "Yes professor." He then looked to Ernie as he said, "Draco attacked no one." He returned to the professor as he said, "It appears that Aurora and her gang of fourth years attacked him, though he was only a first year. They attacked Justin after he tried to defend his friend. I stepped in with my shield charm when Aurora cast the Cruciatus Curse on Draco."

Professor Sprout and a number of others mouthed their shock. That spell was an unforgivable curse. Not only would the caster be expelled, they would probably be sent to Azkaban. The professor asked if anyone else witnessed the curse. When Draco said that he did, the professor told him that he was a victim and could not be a witness. When no one else said anything, she told the offending students to go to their dorm. Justin then moaned and said that he had witnessed the curse. Aurora objected, saying that he was largely unconscious and not even facing the correct way. He could not have witnessed anything.

"That is true, but I did hear you say the word 'Crucio' and then heard Draco scream like someone was cutting out his liver with a dull blade." His ears were his witness. He then feebly stood up with Ernie's help.

Professor Sprout then told Ernie and Cedric to take Justin and Draco to the hospital ward while she was taking the four older Hufflepuffs to see the headmaster. She then marched her students off pointing her wand at them while the others watched. Seeing that Justin was unsteady on his feet even with Ernie's help, Draco went over to Justin's other shoulder, put his arm around him, and offered to help him to the infirmary. Cedric told Draco that he would help support his housemate and that Draco should save his strength to get himself to the infirmary. After all, he had been viciously attacked as well.

"I'm fine. I want to help. The Cruciatus Curse does no permanent or even real damage. It just hurts like heck."

"Draco, you are not an expert on the curse. You leave that to Nurse Pomfrey." He then looked at the smaller blond boy and tenderly said, "I know you want to help. Your friend tried to help you, so now you want to help. Yet, I am stronger and can support him better. Please let me do it."

Draco frowned. He could not argue with that logic, though he did not like it. And why was everyone assuming that he and Justin were friends? For crying out loud, he was a pure-blood and Justin was a mudblood. Malfoy's were not allowed to have such friends. Now was not the time to straighten that out, however. "OK," he said in resignation. "But know this. I am an expert in the curse. This is not the first time that I have been on the receiving end."

"What! Did your father punish you with it when you did something wrong?"

This caused Draco to stop walking and to frown. "Ernie, some of the things you say are really insulting. No, my father does not use the Cruciatus Curse on me. Does your father use it on you?" Draco hoped that Ernie understood how insulting his question was now. "When my father really wants to punish me, he either talks to me for hours and hours about how bad my actions are, or he punishes me by making me watch as he punishes a substitute, a sort of a modern-day whipping boy." Draco did not add that the whipping boy was either an orphan muggle boy or a House-elf.

Ernie just said that he was sorry, but Cedric held his shoulder to offer him comfort. He also said that it sounded as if Draco had been through a lot and that he would try and make sure that less terrible things happened to him. Cedric then asked him if he would continue moving as they needed to get to the infirmary. Draco resumed his walking, but secretly smiled to himself. Maybe Cedric would prove very useful to his plans.

Ernie then told Draco that he heard that he was a pure-blood. He explained that Justin was not, but that he was, proudly saying that he could trace his ancestry of wizards and witches through seven generations. Draco rolled his eyes. Seven lousy generations, the Malfoy's did not even count by generations. They had been pure-blood witches and wizards for at least ten centuries. Yet, Draco wanted to stay on good terms with Cedric, and he did not think insulting Ernie would help. So, he instead said, "Impressive Ernie."

At the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey immediately started to examine both boys. She dismissed Cedric and Ernie, but Draco asked Cedric to stay in case he was needed to answer questions. When Justin asked why Draco could not answer the questions, Draco answered, "Because Cedric is not a Slytherin." Madam Pomfrey just looked at him as if she thought, "And he is not the son of a Death Eater," but she said nothing. Cedric agreed to stay.

When Madam Pomfrey had finished, she told Justin that she had fixed his slight concussion and bruises, but that she wanted him to stay the night for observations. Draco was fine and was free to go. Draco walked next to Cedric as he left, thanking him and praising him for defending him. Cedric was gracious and humble in his acceptance, almost to the point of being embarrassed.


	14. Chapter 14

Draco then laid his trap by saying, "As you know, I have twice been on the receiving end of the Cruciatus Curse for no reason other than being myself." He looked up at Cedric with sad big eyes and said, "It hurts worse than anything you can imagine. Could you help me by teaching me the shield charm? I would be most willing to pay you in gold coins and in favors for your time and trouble."

Cedric was startled. He had not expected that request. With a condescending tone, he said, "I do not need any of your gold!" He changed his tone to one of questioning when he whispered, "Favors?" He clearly was thinking about what he could get from that. "It is out of the question! That spell is way beyond you or any first year. It is taught at Hogwarts only to advanced 5th and 6th years. Many never learn it."

"And yet, you learned it and you are only starting your third year." Draco clearly had expected that and had prepared himself with a ready answer.

"I am different. My father insisted on teaching me after freaking out after Professor Trelawney could not see a future for me beyond my 6th year. I had a very good teacher."

Draco smiled as if he had already won. "Would not you say that I have a better reason to learn than you did? And I think that I will have a very good teacher as well." He then played his trump card. "Please, Cedric. As a Malfoy, there are many more than the two who want to torture or kill me. My mother has already stopped an attempt on my life."

Cedric looked sharply at the blond and thought a while before replying. "I guessed that was why you were attacked twice so viciously. Now you say that someone has tried to kill you as well." He frowned and asked, "How do I know I will not be teaching a powerful spell to a dark wizard?"

Draco handed the older Hufflepuff his wand, saying that it had a unicorn hair core. Cedric looked at it and passed it back. He also had a core of unicorn hair, so he knew what it meant. Draco then asked if a dark wizard would have helped a muggle-born and a _Hufflepuff_. He smirked and changed his tone when he said the name Hufflepuff, making it sound like it was the worst house. He was teasing Cedric, but they both knew that Draco believed it.

"Hey! Take that back or I will refuse to teach you."

"OK. If you teach me I will say that Hufflepuff is the best house, and I will owe you." Draco could not say that he would believe that Hufflepuff was the best house, but he could lie and say it.

"If I agree to teach you, I will want something big and you will have to trust me completely. Otherwise, my lessons will be pointless. Can you help me get a job?"

"A job?" That was what this stupid Hufflepuff wanted for a favor? Yes, the Malfoys had a lot of clout and yes, they knew a lot of people. However, Cedric Diggory was one of the brightest students in his class, he knew more spells than most his age, he was well known because of his position on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, and everybody liked him. Why was he asking for help with a job? Could not he think of a better favor? "Of course, I will help you get a job, but I really doubt that you will need it." Draco frowned. There was something else that troubled him. "What do you mean that I will have to trust you completely."

"Thanks, but I still want your help. You will have to trust that I will not intentionally hurt you. You must because you will be putting your life in my hands."

"What?" There was no way that Draco could trust anyone that much. His face must have said it, because Cedric explained that he would have to trust him completely. He ended by saying that if he wanted to hurt him, that he would not have stepped in and defended him from the Cruciatus Curse. Draco frowned but agreed reluctantly. He said that he would need time to develop a trust like that. Cedric smiled reassuringly and said that that would be alright. He then said that if they practiced every night after school, Draco might learn the Protego spell after many months.

"What? That long? Really?" Cedric just nodded his head. It took him that long and he was older and learning from someone he trusted completely, his father. Seeing Draco's disappointment, Cedric grabbed the younger boy's shoulder and told him he could do it if he really wanted to. Draco just sighed. He wanted it badly. He had been attacked twice with the Cruciatus Curse and had no way to defend himself.

His being saved by Cedric and the fact that the two were hanging out together at night became the talk of the school. Neither would talk much if anything about it, and Draco ignored it for the most part. Or, at least he seemed to outwardly. In reality, he was pleased and amused that nearly everyone was talking about him. Everyone knew that he had been subject to the Cruciatus Curse, some offered their sympathy, others teased him about it, and others told him he deserved it. He said little about it, except to those who witnessed it and to Neville Longbottom. He had tried to tell Neville the same thing he told everyone else, that it was nothing that he could not handle. Yet Neville reminded him that he knew better, and that he wanted to make sure that Draco was mentally, emotionally, and physically OK. Seeing his concern and sincerity, Draco pulled his friend into a deserted classroom, swore him to secrecy, made sure that he was willing and prepared to hear the entire truth, and then described in detail his short exposure to what Neville's parents had gone through.

Draco was also amused that Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were very interested in his special relationship with Cedric Diggory. He overheard them talking about why they might be hanging out. Ron had the crazy notion that Draco was trying to convert Cedric to Dark Magic. Obviously, they had no idea that Cedric was tutoring him on the shield charm and that the lessons were not going well. They even started to covertly follow Draco around during their free time. Draco found that amusing and enjoyed the challenge of trying to lose them when he was meeting up with Cedric. He always managed to lose them, till the incident at the lake, and even then, they only found him at the end of his training with Cedric.

As it happened, Cedric told him to meet him at the lake late one night and to bring swimming trunks. When he arrived, he found the older boy holding an inner tube by the lake and already dressed in black swimming trunks with two yellow stripes down each side. Cedric explained what he was planning for the night's lesson. He was going to ask Draco to change into his swimming trunks, he was going to paralyze him with the Immobulus spell, he was going to take him out into the lake beyond where the two could stand, and Draco would either learn, or the lessons would end that night. Cedric did not mention what he expected Draco to learn, but Draco figured it was that he was to have total trust in his mentor. Draco wondered if he was going to freeze and then drown, but without saying a word he climbed into his green speedos with a large diagonal silver stripe strategically placed over the front and the back. Cedric then immobilized him, placed a warming charm on him, took him out in the lake, placed him on top of the inner tube, and then swam to the shore leaving him alone and paralyzed to float over the water. Draco had to trust that Cedric would take care of him.

Draco figured that was all the lesson was supposed to be, but the giant squid had other plans. At first, he figured he was going to be eaten as he was being pulled towards its mouth. Instead, a shield charm was placed around him. Then he thought he would drown as the squid pulled him under the water and thrashed him about. Instead, he was levitated into the air and dropped not too gently onto the inner tube face side up. From there, he witnessed a battle raging over him as magical spells were repeatedly shot at the squid and water and ink were thrown towards the shore. Draco was helpless, paralyzed, and got the worst of it as he was constantly being struck by both sides. He wondered how he managed to stay afloat on his inner tube and stay alive. Finally, the squid appeared to have enough and left.

After a time that was longer than he liked, Cedric swam out and pulled him back to the shore. Draco was not too pleased to find himself being dunked several times in the shallow water before being released from the Immobulus. Meanwhile, Cedric had been apologizing so much that it was sickening. Draco gathered that the giant squid had not been a planned part of the lesson, and that Cedric had thought that it would never come so close to the shore. As they walked out of the water, Draco asked, "I know I am supposed to trust you, but why did you wait so long to release me from your spell?"

"I am so sorry Draco, believe me. I did try, repeatedly. I think that the squid ink negates magic. My spells weakened whenever I got hit by it, and you were encased in it. I was not able to reverse my spell until I got some of it off you." Draco looked over his body finding that he was still for the most part covered in black ink. Only his feet and hands which had been in the water were mostly free of it. His front side was encased in it, especially his speedo which had turned into a shiny pitch black.

Realizing all that had happened, Draco reached up and warmly embraced the taller Hufflepuff, saying thanks. Cedric had fought off the Giant Squid to save him at considerable risk. Who would have expected a third year to fight off such a creature? No one. He could have just left him to die and no one would have thought anything of it. Draco never had felt so safe except with his parents. He owed Cedric his life and he would not forget it.

"Why are you thanking me? I almost got you killed! I am so sorry! I never intended any of this!" Cedric looked almost guilty, other than his heartfelt smile.

"You could have just walked away; instead, you fought off the squid to save me. That is two times I owe you!" Draco closed his eyes and placed his ink covered head against the taller boy's chest.

Cedric just hugged the smaller and normally blond boy harder, saying, "You owe me nothing. I owe you for nearly getting you killed."

"What the bloody heck is going on?" It was Ron Weasley's voice. Standing next to him with a frown on his face was Harry Potter. Seeing them and knowing that Malfoy's were not supposed to show emotion in public, Draco immediately pulled away from Cedric. His cheeks felt hot, but he sincerely hoped that the squid ink hid their color. Weasley looked over the scene and seemed puzzled by the black ink everywhere and the odd behavior of two wet boys in swimming clothes in the middle of the night. On the other hand, Potter kept his gaze only on Malfoy.

"Hello Ron and Harry," Cedric replied. "Nothing is going on." Realizing that that statement seemed absurd, he added, "Well, nothing besides that the Giant Squid interrupted my lesson with young Mr. Malfoy."

"Oh! That explains everything!" Ron said sarcastically. "Like why two boys were obviously swimming in the cold of night in the lake, and why you were hugging like lovers, and why Malfoy is saying that you saved him twice and you say that you owe him for nearly getting him killed." Ron still looked confused, but he seemed to smile to himself when he realized the stories he could tell others.

"Well, at least it explains why there is black ink everywhere, especially on Malfoy." It was from Harry, and he looked coldly at the Slytherin. "At least it points out your true nature Malfoy, dark."

Cedric tried to explain that it was not how it looked, but Draco knew that there would be no reasoning with them. He asked, "What do you want, and is there any way that we can buy your silence?" He was prepared to pay a lot.

Ron seemed to consider his answer. He knew that he might be able to get a lot of gold for his silence. Yet, Harry answered, "We want to know what is going on here. We want Malfoy to confess that he is trying to convert you, Cedric, into becoming a Dark Wizard. And we want to know why you, Cedric, would bother to save someone as despicable as Malfoy?"

Ron seemed to regret not being able to ask for gold, but he said nothing. Cedric appeared to be so startled that he was speechless. Draco just sighed and explained to Cedric that Potter and Weasley did not care for him very much. That seemed to push Potter over the edge. "Do not care for you much! I hate your guts! If the Giant Squid had killed you, I would say it did the world a huge favor!"

Cedric regained his speech, saying, "Harry! Enough! You are the savior of the wizarding world, and you saved it for Draco and his family too!"

"Not for the Malfoys! They are evil. Armand Malfoy is believed to have rendered shady services to William the Conqueror and his invading Norman army. Some believe that the first Lucius Malfoy placed a jinx upon Queen Elizabeth I, making her opposed to marriage, after she rejected his offer of matrimony. Many Malfoys over the years have helped finance some election campaigns, and it is alleged that they have sometimes paid for hexing the opposition. Nicholas Malfoy is believed to have dispatched many Muggle tenants under the guise of the Black Death. Abraxas Malfoy is widely believed to have been involved in getting the first Muggle-born Minister, Nobby Leach, to leave his post prematurely. And many believe that Malfoy's father was a Death Eater, and that he lied about being under the Imperius Curse to escape Azkaban."

"Harry! Enough! Listen to your own words, 'Is believed to have, some believe, it is alleged.' You cannot prove any of what you say!"

Draco smiled. He was in too good a mood to lose it from Potter's mouth. "Careful Potter. If you hate me, then you hate the blood of the Potters." He waited till Harry got a confused look. "Yes, that is right. Flowing within my veins is the blood of the Potters. The Potters have intermarried with the Malfoys at least twice that I know of." Draco was interrupted before he could say anything further, but he took it in stride. He knew that Potter would find this information difficult to believe.

"I do not believe you. How can I tell if this is not one of your lies?"

Draco found that rather insulting, but Cedric stood up for him, so he let most of it go. "You will have to remind me when I told you a lie, because I do not recall ever doing so." He waited for Potter, but nothing was said in reply. "Anyway, if you do not believe me, you can check in the school library under the Family History section. I did not have time to go home and check in the official Malfoy family history after speaking to the Sorting Hat." Draco did not explain his last remark and surprisingly, no one asked, probably because they were too startled by the news that the Potters were related to the Malfoys. "The point is, our two families have intermarried. The most recent was my great-great uncle Charles Potter who is not a blood ancestor of mine but could be of yours. And the other was Minny Potter, who married into the main Malfoy line a couple of centuries ago. She is something like my great-great-great-great-great grandmother. And either her parents or her grandparents are your direct ancestor and our common ancestor." He smiled before adding, "So, you had better not hate me, Potter, because we are related by family and by blood. When you think about it, it is not that surprising, because the Potters and the Malfoys were both pure-blood wizarding families, and there were not that many of them, so they tended to intermarry." It was even more so with the Malfoys, because they always married outside of their house, unlike many other pure-blood families, but Draco did not bother to discuss that.

"Ew," Potter said in disgust. Though his remark was insulting, it implied that he believed that the two were related. "Other than someone who married into the Malfoy family, is there any Malfoy that ever did anything good?"

"My father gives hefty donations to St Mungo's Hospital."

Potter rolled his eyes and said, "Something good without the use of money." Draco was unsure why something could not be good if it involved money, but he decided not to question it. He also had no answer for Potter. So, he said that he would research it and get back to him.

"Are we related?" Ron asked with apprehension. He too came from one of the few pure-blood wizard families. He was clearly nervous about the answer, but he was dying to find out.

Draco was not surprised that the Weasel did not know his own family history. "We are related much closer, being third cousins, once removed, through my mother's house. We both have Phineas Nigellus Black as our ancestor." Draco then just stood there silently watching the others. Weasley and Potter just gaped at him with their mouths ajar in disbelief. Cedric laughed, saying that only Draco would know details about family history like that. Draco wondered if that was good or bad, but decided he was more interested in another question.


	15. Chapter 15

Turning to Cedric he asked, "Did I pass your test?"

Cedric blinked once with the change in subject. "With flying colors little buddy." Draco smiled. That meant that his lessons would continue. "And I think you should get to a shower and wash that ink off before my warming charm wears off." Cedric returned the smile. He seemed to enjoy teaching the younger Slytherin a spell that others said was nearly impossible. The two wet boys then started to grab their clothes and things.

"Wait a minute," Harry said. "If you want our silence, you have to address my three points."

Draco frowned. He had forgotten about that and had trouble recalling Potters three points. Fortunately, Cedric answered instead, "As for the first point, Harry, it is none of your business what we did tonight. None at all. As for the second point, Draco is not going to confess to something he has never done." He looked Potter in the eye and sternly said, "You obviously do not know him very well if you think he is trying to convert me into becoming a dark wizard. I suggest you try to get to know him better so that you will not say such nonsense. As for your third point, it does not merit an answer from me, and I never want to hear it again. Am I clear?" He then looked at both Gryffindors. His look was stern throughout, but his tone and look were only sharp at the end.

Potter frowned, "OK, but understand that that will not buy our silence."

Ignoring Potter, Cedric grabbed Draco's shoulder and told him not to worry. "Their lack of silence will throw others further from the truth, and that will be okay." Cedric and Draco then walked together towards the school.

Draco asked, "Can we stop in and see Professor Trelawny before cleaning up. She saw darkness all around me and incorrectly concluded that I would be facing death. I'd like her to see me covered in squid ink." His eyes twinkled with mirth, but he said nothing further. Cedric smirked that the Giant Squid came close to killing him, so she had not been wrong in her conclusion. "Aw Cedric. She missed seeing that I was completely safe as long as you were nearby!" Cedric did not respond as they walked in silence into the castle, but both boys had warm smiles on their faces.

Draco continued his lessons with Cedric every night for a week, but he did not get far because Harry Potter, Ron, and often Ron's twin brothers would interrupt the lessons. Because Draco did not want anyone to know what he was doing, he would call it a night when the Gryffindor boys found them. They tried different rooms, various times, and different obstacles, but Harry and Ron would usually find them, though it might take a while. If the Weasley twins were also present, they would always quickly find them. Draco started bringing his camcorder and laptop as an early warning system, but it was of little help if all four Gryffindors were searching for them.

Shortly after they began their lesson one night, Draco noticed the four Gryffindor boys approaching them through his laptop. "Shoot! Fred and George are with them tonight. We will never escape them. They must have some magical way to track us that we do not know about."

"Knowing Fred and George, that is possible." Cedric looked thoughtful before adding, "It may also explain why they can get away with so much, especially after hours. They can track the people that they are trying to stay away from."

"Should we call it a night? I mean, I know we have not been able to do much lately, but I do not want anyone to know." Draco then turned to the older boy for direction.

"Yes, about that, I need to talk to you. Yet, let's talk away from prying ears. I might know a place that they might not be able to enter."

"You know a place?" Draco looked hopeful. He might be able to get some serious work done for the first time in days.

"Yes. Grab your things, because they will soon be unlocking that door." Cedric then pointed to the door in front of him. "I'll tell you as we go." Draco grabbed his laptop and then followed Cedric out the back door. He would come back for his camcorder later. They magically locked the door as they went, hoping to slow down the Gryffindors. "Have you heard of the Room of Requirement?"

"No. Should I?"

"It is a magical room on the 7th floor of the castle that appears only when someone has need of it. You must walk past the spot a couple of times with a specific need. And then a door appears to a room that has all the things that are required for your need."

Draco smiled hopefully. "Such as a room to practice my lesson in privacy." Cedric just nodded his head. "And Potty and Weasel cannot get in?"

Cedric frowned, so Draco amended it to Potter and Weasley. "If you need privacy, they should not be able to enter." He then pinched his lips and looked troubled. "About your wanting no one to know. Is it OK if Professor Dumbledore knows?" He looked uncertain and a little guilty.

"I would rather no one knew. Why do you ask?"

"I, uhm, was called to the headmaster's office. He asked me what I was doing spending so much time with you. When I told him it was a secret, he said that he had heard rumors that, uhm, I was doing inappropriate things with you." To this, Cedric's face turned all red. "He said that it was very wrong of me to take advantage of such a younger student."

"No one believes what Potty and Weasel are spreading. Though I can understand why he would think such things! The dirty old coot! You are only two classes a-head of me!"

"Yes, well, Fred and George Weasley asked me about the same thing. They seemed to believe me when I talked to them though. On the other hand, Dumbledore at first did not, pointing out that I had entered puberty and might be interested in a good-looking youth." Cedric then rolled his eyes as if he recalled how strange that conversation had been. Yet, he got a sick and worried look on his face as he said, "At which point I broke and told him everything." He pinched his lips again and looked at Draco, but Draco did not look back. "He knows that you are trying to learn the shield charm. Sorry."

"That interfering old coot! Did he believe you, or did he read your mind?"

"He believed me and even told me that I was wasting my time. He said that such a young and spoiled boy could never learn such a difficult spell. It was way beyond you and would be for many years." Cedric smiled knowing that Draco would hate hearing that.

"That old coot! Way beyond me! I will show him! I'll show them all!"

Cedric just smiled. Draco guessed that there was a reason he had told him all of this. If it was to get him all fired up and redouble his efforts, he succeeded. Draco practiced hard every night for a week without any interruptions in the Room of Requirement. In fact, his laptop told him that the Weasley twins had abandoned their attempts to find them, though Potty and Weasel had not.

After a week with no interruptions, Cedric told him that he would have to trust him totally one last time. Draco agreed. Cedric then took him to an empty classroom on the second floor instead of the Room of Requirement and tied the younger blond up. When Draco objected because Potty and Weasel had left their dorm to search for them, Cedric said, "I asked you to trust me totally tonight. Do you want to stop the lessons?"

Draco jerked his head back in surprise. If his wrists were not tied in a spread-eagle standing position, he might have fallen backwards. "Stop now? Are you mad? I feel I am so close." He looked towards the open door in worry. "It is just that I do not want anyone to find us and discover what you are teaching me. It is bad enough with Filch searching the castle, but Potter and Weasley are as well." He had called them by their proper names because he knew that Cedric did not like his nicknames for them.

"You have to trust me tonight. I'll explain everything when I return." Draco looked at the older boy with worry in his eyes, but he said nothing. Cedric was going to leave him tied up and alone with people looking for him. He did not like it, but he did trust him. "Now, may I place the gag?"

Draco nodded his head. Cedric wanted him to be submissive and defenseless, but he did not know why. Cedric had always protected him before, so Draco was confused that he would leave him like he was. He was fairly safe in the room and it was unlikely that anyone but Filch, Potter, or Weasley would find him. Draco surprised himself when he realized he was okay if one of them found him. So, Draco would go along with what Cedric wanted. Besides, he had no choice if he wanted to continue his lessons.

Draco soon found himself tied and gagged and alone in the room. Cedric had even left the door open. Was he hoping that someone would find him? If so, why? Draco did not know and soon became bored. There was little that he could do and even resting was not an option. Time proceeded slowly, and Draco even began to hope that someone would find him. Especially since if they did, they would be no wiser on what his lessons were. Eventually, Potter and Weasley did find him.

"My, my, my! Look what we have here. A blond bird all tied up and ready for the slaughter. Someone has done us a favor!" It was Weasley and he had a stupid grin on his face. Potter was with him, but he was looking around searching for someone or something.


	16. Chapter 16

They entered the room and Potter asked, "Where is Cedric? And why are you tied and gagged? Not that I mind."

"Mumph myhr mumph," was all Draco could manage. It should have been obvious, but they were slow, so he gave them a hint to remove the gag. Potter removed the gag, saying something about it being better. Draco smiled, "You may not believe this, but I am actually glad that you found me. I do not know where Cedric is. He left me, saying that he would come back, but it was a long time ago." He looked at his restraints, realizing that he did not want to tell them that Cedric had tied him up. "And yes, someone tied, gagged, and left me here alone. I am not sure why they did it, other than to teach me a lesson."

The Weasel said something about the explanation sounding funny. Clearly the boy had some brains, it was just that he did not often use them. Potter looked at Weasley and said, "Yes, it sounds funny, but who cares." He then looked Draco in the eyes and asked if he was hurt.

That surprised Draco. "Thank you for asking, but no, I am not hurt." He looked down at his restraints, wondering if he should ask to be untied.

"Unhurt and at our mercy. I think I like this." Ron had a twinkle in his eye that was unreadable.

Draco looked at Potter who clearly was thinking things over. "Are you going to hurt me?" The Weasel got a silly grin on his face but Potty just looked him over and appeared to be thinking.

Potter then came to a decision, "No, we are not going to hurt you."

"Ah! Could not you have made him sweat a little longer?" The Weasel was clearly enjoying having him at his mercy.

"If we had known the extent of your injuries, we would have untied you last time." That was unexpected, was Potty apologizing to him? "We only thought that you had a black eye and maybe a few sore spots, we knew nothing about your internal injuries." It was an apology, though a poor one since Draco had said that he needed to go to the infirmary. "I am sorry, but you really rub me the wrong way."

"It is true, man. We did not realize that you were so badly injured. We do not like you, but we would not have left you tied if we had known." Double surprise, the Weasel was also apologizing.

"OK, I can accept that." No need to tell you that I told you that I needed to go to the hospital. "Would one of you mind and untie me?" He saw their look of hesitation, so he added, "Please."

The Weasel smirked, "I kind of like your being at my mercy."

Potter just smiled as he turned to Draco and said, "I'll make you a deal. I will release you if you tell us what you and Cedric are doing nearly every night."

"Don't you think that we are lovers? Is that not the rumor you have been spreading?"

"You know that we do not believe that."

Draco eyed them both sharply but held his tongue. If they did not believe it, then why were they spreading the rumor? It meant little to Draco as no one believed it because of his age. Yet at least Dumbledork had wondered about Cedric, and he deserved better. "I am taking lessons from Cedric, nothing more. He has much to teach me."

"What is he teaching you?"

"Various spells, how to be a better person, how to have more trust and more patience."

His words caused the Weasel to get his silly grin back as he said that Cedric had much work to do. He asked if he had any luck on being a better person. Draco snorted, "Well, I definitely have had more patience with you, Weasley." He did not add that he had an incentive, he wanted to be untied.

"Enough!" Potter commanded. "What are you teaching Cedric?" He was looking at him with an odd intensity. He probably thought he was teaching him something dark.

"Nothing." Seeing that they did not believe him, he added, "You can ask him if you want. He knows every spell that I know, so there is nothing that I can teach him."

"Then why is he doing it? What does he gain from it?"

Draco got a blank look. Why was Cedric teaching him? He was not gaining much out of it. "I am not sure. He did ask me to help him find a job when he graduates, but he would accept no money when I offered to pay him." Draco went silent and thought a bit. Why had he never wondered about this before. He would have to ask Cedric. "I do not see that he gains anything from it other than my friendship."

"Why would he want that?"

Draco frowned, wondering if he should retort to that. He decided not to, though he did intensely glare at the boy. "I'll pretend that you were asking a question instead of making an insult, Weasley." He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I think he liked the fact that I defended Justin Finch-Fletchley from my older housemates."

"You defended a muggle-born Hufflepuff from some older pure-blood Slytherins?"

Draco laughed and nodded his head. He knew that that sounded totally out of character for him. "I do not believe it myself. And it was a difficult choice to make, I am sorry to say. I wish I would have jumped in sooner." That admission got the other two boys to stop asking questions. They just stared at him with open mouths, wondering if they had heard him correctly. They went off into a corner of the room and discussed something in whispers for quite some time. Apparently, things had not gone as they had expected. When they came back, they told him that they did not believe everything that he had said. They suspected that he was either lying about some things or not telling everything that he knew. Inwardly, Draco smiled to himself. Of course, he was not telling them everything that he knew. They never asked about what spell or spells he was learning from Cedric. What idiots! That was the one thing that he was keeping a secret and would not have told anyone even if he had to stay tied up all night!

"So, though we do not entirely believe you, you have told us what we asked for. For this reason, we have agreed to keep our end of the bargain and untie you." Potty then began untying his left hand, and the Weasel soon began on his other hand.

Knowing that it never hurt to be polite, Draco said, "Thank you Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley. I will remember this." The two Gryffindors then left to return to their dorm. Draco stayed hoping that Cedric would return. He did not have to wait long.

"Well, that went better than I had ever hoped it would."

Draco looked at the older Hufflepuff thoughtfully as he walked up to him. Cedric apparently had planned his encounter with Potty and Weasel. That was why he had tied him up even though the two Gryffindors were searching for them. "Why did you plan our encounter and how do you know what happened?"

In answer, Cedric pulled out an extendable ear from a pocket in his robes. That explained how he knew, he was able to hear much of their conversation. As for why he planned his encounter with Potty and Weasel, he said it was because he wanted to improve their relationship. Potter and Weasley were thinking the worst about Draco, and Draco was not being polite to them, such as calling them Potty and Weasel. Draco's cheeks turned a bit red when he heard that. Cedric went on asking, "Why are you so dead set on keeping our lessons a secret? That is partly why Ron and Harry think you are up to no good. When will you let the others know that you have simply been trying to learn how to defend yourself? When you are brutally attacked again?"

"No, and I hope that never happens again. I will let my classmates and teachers know that I have been trying to learn the shield charm, but not until I am able to successfully use it. I want to keep our lessons a secret because everyone says that I will not be able to learn it until I am much older and more powerful in my magic. If I fail to learn it, I do not want them to know about it, hence the secrecy. Yet if I succeed, I will tell them. I plan on telling them during Dumbledork's show and tell that the first and second year's display during dinner." (Near the start of the year, the headmaster announced that he was starting a new policy to encourage young students in their use of magic. Every night during the start of dinner, three students would display one of their favorite newly learned spells. Everyone was expected to watch, but only first and second years would demonstrate the spells. Every young student must participate, but they were to sign up so that they could choose when they were ready to perform their spell.)

Cedric looked thoughtful. "That makes sense. Telling the others when the young students are demonstrating their spells will be a good time to do it. Yet, you really must show Professor Dumbledore more respect. He is your headmaster whether you like him or not."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I am only using it because you are the only one around and you'll never tell." He paused for a minute and thought of a supporting argument, "Besides, he called you into to his office because he was concerned about the rumor that Potty, I mean Potter and Weasley were spreading. What a waste of his and your time!"

Cedric just smiled at that. He was not going to argue about it. Probably he agreed with him, but he thought that he should be more respectful. "Just be a little more respectful." Cedric then added in a very low voice, "Even if they do not deserve it."

"Potter brought up a good question. Why are you spending so much time on my lessons? What gain do you get out of it?"

"You asked me, and I said I would. If you recall, I asked for help in finding a job someday." Draco tried to interrupt, but Cedric did not let him. "Yes, I know it is not much and is way down the road. Yet, I am getting something far greater. If you do not know what it is, I am not going to tell you. I am going to let you figure it out." Upon seeing Draco's confused look, he added, "I will tell you this much. If you do not learn the spell and we discontinue the lessons, will you have gained anything from our time together?"

"More than I could have ever imagined. I owe you so much already, and I do not intend to fail in learning the spell. In fact, I think I am close. May we continue?"

Cedric nodded his head knowing that he meant with the lessons. "You must continue to trust me again wholeheartedly as you have been doing. Tonight, I am going to repeatedly shoot a stunning spell at you with increasing power each time I shoot. I will announce when I am about to shoot, so that you will either learn to block me or the pain will become worse each time I hit you." He smiled as he looked at his young apprentice. "I would not do this unless I too thought you were ready. Do you understand?" Draco smiled back, nodded his head, and then they began the lesson.

Two weeks later, Draco signed up to perform his favorite spell in front of everyone at dinner, deliberately picking the same date that Harry Potter chose. Cedric tried to talk him out of it, saying that he did not need to compete with anyone, but Draco refused to change his date. He was afraid that if he backed out, Potter would think he was afraid to perform his spell at the same time as the chosen one.

When the day came, Potter stood up to display the first of the three spells that were to be displayed before dinner that night. When Professor Dumbledore said he could begin, Potter said, "Wingardium Leviosa" to levitate his dinner plate. His dinner plate rose from the table and then soared above the candles providing light for the room. His spell was a standard spell taught to every first-year student at Hogwarts. Nonetheless, all the teachers and nearly all the students clapped their hands, most quite loudly so that the hall was filled with noise. Only the Slytherin students were modest in their response.

Ron Weasley was announced next, and he grabbed a chicken leg and said, "Engorgio" to enlarge the chicken leg. This was a second-year spell, so it demonstrated much talent for a first-year student. This caused the teachers and students to clap a little louder compared to Harry's. Yet, the hall erupted into laughter when Ron greedily started eating the enlarged chicken leg. Most everyone knew that he loved chicken and the bigger the piece, the better.

The headmaster lastly announced Draco's name, and immediately Draco stood up. He lazily leaned against his spot at the table and slowly took out his wand. He spun it in his hands to build anticipation before moving his wand around him and announcing, "Protego." At first, the students were confused as it appeared that nothing happened and the younger students did not know the spell. Then Cedric stood up and shot a stunning spell at him and everyone saw the spell bounce off a shield. Many of the older students and professors asked, "What?" Presumably, they could not believe what they had just seen. Yet, Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Draco and shouted, "REDUCTO!" The spell hit him so hard that Draco was thrown backwards a couple of feet. Yet, he smiled enormously as he remained on his feet and his shield held.

The hall went absolutely quiet, so quiet that everyone heard Professor Snape comment, "Headmaster, I would appreciate it if you would not use a spell that might send one of my students to the infirmary or worse."

The next comment came from Percy Weasley. "Merlin's beard! He even stopped Professor Dumbledore!" Percy looked at his little brother and added, "You had better watch out for that one, Ron. Because if he is as you say he is, he may become another Dark Lord. He in his first year just used a spell that I have not mastered, and many will never perform."

After that, a loud murmur began in the hall as many people started talking. Just then, Cedric started clapping loudly and alone, but one by one, a few others joined in. Draco noticed that all the professors and staff started clapping politely and modestly, but some, such as Hagrid, were clapping reluctantly. His Slytherin friends and most his age joined in the clapping, but most were only clapping politely, and none were clapping enthusiastically. Among the Ravenclaws, only Padma Patil was clapping; among the Gryffindors, only Neville Longbottom, Parvati Patil, and Hermione Granger. Even Fred and George Weasley were not clapping, they were engaged in an intense conversation and were paying attention to nothing else. Of all the houses, the loudest clapping came from the Hufflepuffs. Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and Cedric Diggory were clapping ecstatically and encouraging their friends to do the same. Since they were friends with most of the students in their year, and Cedric got his Quidditch team mates to join in, a number of Hufflepuffs were clapping. Besides, Draco thought that some of them may have been clapping because they felt a little guilty that some of their housemates had used the torture curse on him.

Looking around the hall and seeing so little clapping, Draco blinked his eyes rapidly as they turned a bit red around the edges. He had just performed a spell that was only taught at Hogwarts to advanced 5th and 6th years, and hardly anyone appeared to appreciate his efforts. He sat down dejectedly and simply stared at his plate. He was glad when the food appeared, so that he could forget about what had just happened, but in truth, he only picked at his food and moved it around on his plate. He left dinner early, went to bed, but slept poorly. For that matter, he slept poorly all week and hardly talked to anyone.


	17. Chapter 17

During the next week, he noticed that Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were repeatedly sneaking out of their dorm after curfew. Since Potty and Weasel had tried to discover what he and Cedric had been doing, Draco vowed to find out what they were doing. Unfortunately, that night, he never came upon their trail until they were returning. Yet, from their direction when he first spied them, he suspected that they were returning from outside the castle. He discreetly trailed them to the entrance of their common room. He was uncomfortable being in this location so late at night, but he wanted to speak to the fat lady. She said she would reveal nothing but admitted that she knew next to nothing. She reminded him that he would not appreciate it if she told them what Draco Malfoy was doing. He saw her point.

Seeing them leave together the next morning after breakfast, Draco accosted them. He doubted that they would tell him anything if he asked, so his plan was to get them angry enough to spill some information. "Well, well, well. Looky here. A half-blood, a mud-blood, and a blood traitor. My three favorite odd couples." His tone was pleasant, but he said it with a sneer and made it look like he was looking down on them.

"What do you want Malfoy?" His tone was not pleasant, but it was more annoyed than angry. "And what about a blood something and blood traitor?" This last statement was said in great confusion.

"He means me, Harry." Ron supplied a partial answer, but he did not explain what a blood traitor was. Ron also appeared to not understand that Potty was confused about a mud-blood. Draco smiled at that. Potty had a most unworthy informant about the wizarding world.

"What do I want? Well, for starters, you had better be nice. Otherwise I will inform Filch that our golden boy is sneaking out of his dorm after curfew and leading others astray with him. That is very naughty for the _SAVIOR of the wizarding world_." He said the last phrase as if it was something special, just to irritate Potter. Potter's jaw opened in astonishment at what Draco knew.

Draco then turned his attention to Hermione, keeping his tone sweet and polite. "You disappoint me Granger. A girl of your great intellect could do much better than hang around with these two. You have the highest grades in most of our classes, and they can barely do their homework even with your help." He was guessing about that, but he thought he was guessing rather correctly. "What would McGonagall and your teachers think about your breaking so many school rules?" He raised an eyebrow to show that he sincerely wondered about it.

Turning to Ron, he kept his tone sweet but with an undertone of defiance. "Ronald Weasley. You come from a pure-blood family. No matter how much your family betrays its blood, I am sure that your mother and pop would be disappointed to hear that you were expelled from Hogwarts. So why are you following Potty on some hair-brained adventure after hours? Sooner or later, it will get you into trouble. Then, what will mommy and poppy think?" Draco was pleased that Ron appeared startled to realize that there was some truth in what he had said.

Potter asked, "Are you threatening us with blackmail?"

Draco looked hurt, but inwardly, he smiled. Potty had just admitted without saying it that he was guilty as charged. He had forced Potter's back up against the wall, but he was not defeated yet. If Draco could defeat him, he might be able to learn everything about what they were doing.

Unfortunately, Ron was not as easily defeated. "Harry, he is a Slytherin. He thinks of everything in terms of gains and losses." Ron then turned to Draco and asked, "What do you want Malfoy, and why are you acting as if your underwear is all in a knot?"

Draco pretended to act like he was insulted. "You may not ask about my underwear. Besides, the pair I have on is the most comfortable ones that money can buy, so I am sure mine are more comfortable than yours." He knew that the Weasel would not like hearing that. Yet, he did not want to annoy him too much. "I want to know where you are going and what you are doing after curfew. That is all, and I swear on my honor as a Malfoy, that I will not tell anyone of the school employees." If he wanted to, he could tell a few of the students, who would tell others, who would tell others, so that eventually the teachers would be informed, though their infractions would likely grow in the telling.

Ron advised that they just leave. Yet, Hermione said that she thought he might be telling the truth. Besides, he might be a useful ally. Ron objected loudly to that. Yet, Hermione continued by asking, "Who is Nicolas Flamel?"

That was unexpected. Why would they want to know about him? "Nicolas Flamel? You mean the oldest wizard in existence ever? Why do you ask?"

"Never you mind. Just answer the question unless you are not smart enough to know."

"Well, Potter, are your shorts in a knot? Because if so, it would explain your rudeness." Draco liked turning that question against him. In fact, he wished he knew a spell to do it! "Frankly, I am not surprised that you do not know about him, Potter. Even though you read his name when we first met." That got Potter to shut up and think. He could not remember even with that hint. He then looked at Hermione. "Yet, I am surprised that you do not know him. Did not you say that you read Hogwarts: A History from cover to cover? He is mentioned." Draco then sneered at Ron. "As for you, Weasel, you have the most pathetic excuse. Do you not have an extensive Chocolate Frog card collection? How could you not know about Nicolas Flamel?"

All the Gryffindors looked disturbed. The name had seemed familiar to all of them, but they had not been able to place it. Draco must be telling the truth. Finally, Harry dejectedly said to Malfoy, "Just tell us what you know, and I will tell you what I know."

"Flamel is an ancient alchemist who invented the Philosopher's Stone. It is rumored that with the stone, a sorcerer can turn any metal into gold as well as make the elixir of life, a drink that makes one immortal. I say rumored, because few really know. He is over 600 years old, so that part might be true. Yet, he is not that wealthy considering that he has had so much time to make gold."

"What do you think mate?"

"He is telling the truth," this made Draco smile until he added, "for once." Ron rolled his eyes, probably because he knew that. He then asked if they should tell Malfoy all that they knew.

"Absolutely. Malfoy, I promised that if you told us what you knew, I'd tell you what I know. This is what I know, you are a pain in the arse?" With that, Potter turned and walked away.

Draco could not believe Potter's answer. "You must be joking?"

Hermione and Ron looked a little embarrassed. They expressed thanks for the help, and then they turned and followed Potter. Hermione mentioned something about how he could have been a useful ally.

Malfoy shouted with anger, "You'll regret this Potter!"

That night Draco was watching for them. As predicted, they did not vary their departure time of 11:30 PM. What amateurs. What he did not expect was when they disappeared behind a cloak right outside of their common room. The Fat Lady was keeping a big secret of theirs! How could he possibly follow them when they were invisible? Wait, they might be leaving the castle by the main entrance. If he could beat them there, find someplace to hide, he might be able to determine where they were going if he could determine their direction.

Draco shut his laptop, stuffed it away, and ran for the exit. If only he could get outside and hide without being seen, he might have a chance. The trouble was, he did not have time to quietly sneak around and look for teachers, ghosts, and Mr. Filch. He would have to rely on luck. In the darkness, he got to the main hallway and entrance undetected, but then had to stop. He saw a lantern on the stairs being carried by Mr. Filch. Fortunately, the squib was going up the stairs and away from him. Yet Draco had to wait several minutes until he had gone out of site. Hoping that he was not too late and that his invisible prey where unable to see him, Draco opened the door and left the castle as quietly as he could. He then found a place nearby to hide and keep a watch on the door.

It was not long before he saw the door open. Yet, he saw nothing else. Could someone have opened the door but had stayed inside the castle? It was a possibility. It was also possible that Potty, Weasel, and the mud-blood were invisible and staying quiet. If so, he may not be able to learn anything. Then he heard snickering at the bottom of the steps which caused someone else to snicker. "Shh," someone said.

"Sorry," someone whispered. "I almost died when Filch came so near us." It was a girl's voice, probably Hermione.

"He could not see us and did not know we were there. Yet, it was funny mate." It was a boy's whisper, probably Ron's from the use of the word mate and the fact that he started snickering again.

The girl started laughing and said something about how Mrs. Norris had known they were near. Then another voice demanded, "Be silent! Malfoy is on to us and I do not want him to know what we are doing!"

With that, Draco heard nothing further except for an occasional footstep. He thought he knew which direction they were heading, but he was a bit off. It took him quite a while before he found them in Hagrid's hut. He tried to eavesdrop from outside for some time, but he could make little sense of it. The Philosopher's stone was being guarded by a three-headed dog at Hogwarts? Why would it be here? Why would a dog monstrosity be its guardian? Professor Snape was trying to steal it? That made no sense. What was that about a dragon? Draco peeked in the bottom of a window to look and was amazed to see a baby dragon. Unfortunately, his peeking was designed not be seen by the three Gryffindor children, the much taller Hagrid easily saw him. When the others saw and identified him, he ran away.

He went straight to Professor McGonagall and informed her about three of her house's students who were out of the castle after curfew. It had something to do with their wanting to try and prevent the theft of the Philosopher's stone by Professor Snape. McGonagall's shock at hearing that told him that Potter and his gang were on to something. They must be at least partially correct but had to be wrong about Severus. The Philosopher's stone was being guarded at Hogwarts. This made Draco a bit cocky, and he told her about seeing Potter with a dragon and an invisibility cloak.

This caused her to frown and stand. "Come with me and I will get to the bottom of this." She then went out the door and headed for the entrance to the castle. Draco obediently followed. They waited inside the front entrance to the castle for long enough that Draco wondered if they had missed them, but eventually the door opened. When it did, four Gryffindors walked in, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and Neville Longbottom. Professor McGonagall informed them how deeply disappointed she was in them, how they had broken the rules, and how unsafe it was to be out of their dormitories after curfew. She laid out a steep penalty, a minus 50 points for the house of each student and a detention with Hagrid.

Yes, Draco was feeling pretty smug. He was standing away and back from the others, enjoying what he was hearing. Gryffindor was down 200 points and Potter and his gang were on detention. He thought that would teach them to mess with him. He failed to notice the use of the pleural form of dormitory until later. "Excuse me professor," he said quietly, as if afraid to interrupt her dolling out the punishment, "Do not forget about Potter's baby dragon and invisibility cloak." She turned to face Draco and missed seeing Potter's jaw open in shock. He was clearly greatly surprised to discover that he knew about his two big secrets.

Unfortunately, McGonagall frowned and said in disbelief, "Oh really Mr. Malfoy. And where would Mr. Potter have obtained these very rare and very magical items? Dragons are even illegal, so stop talking nonsense, or I will make you regret it." She then turned back to the others, missing Potter recover from his shock. "All five of you will report to Hagrid for detention tomorrow night. I'll inform him who to expect."

That was unexpected and unfortunate. She did not believe him about Potter's secrets, and did she count wrong? "Excuse me professor," Draco interrupted again as he walked closer. "Perhaps I heard you wrong? Did you say all five of us?"

She turned her eyes at him and looked almost sad as she said, "You heard me correct, Mr. Malfoy. As honorable as your intentions were," she said with such a slight smile that Draco was unsure if she had one, "you too were out of bed after hours. And you above all should understand how dangerous that is. So, you too will report for detention."

"But I can defend myself now!"

She nodded at his argument as if in agreement, but said, "Nonetheless, that does not give you permission to break the rules. Even if you can defend yourself, you along with every one of my Gryffindors will be far safer in your dormitory. You will join your classmates in detention." Her tone implied that she would accept no argument.

Draco noticed Potty and Weasel grin at that, but he said nothing as he nodded his head. McGonagall then sent them off to bed. The others left together, but Draco had to go to the dungeons all by himself. As he left, he noticed that the professor was watching him, but she said nothing. From the corner of his eye, he saw her move to a nearby portrait and whisper something to it. Was she having them spy on him?

In the morning at breakfast, all the students noticed that the house points in the hourglasses had changed drastically. Slytherin was down fifty points while Gryffindor was down 200. Soon, the story spread about why. Draco went from being one of the most popular Slytherins to being one of the most despised. His only consolation was that Gryffindor had lost many more points, and that most of the school now turned on Harry Potter. Instead of being the most admired and popular student at Hogwarts, Potter became the most hated. Nearly all of the students from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff were angry that Potter and his friends had lost so many points, returning House Slytherin to the lead for the house cup. Most of the school were hoping that House Slytherin would not win the house cup for another year, and House Gryffindor was the most likely challenger. Yet, at least the four Gryffindors had each other for support, he was all alone in his misery.


	18. Chapter 18

(Note: In reality, Harry Potter's mother had a wand that was 10 and ¼ inches of Willow with an unspecified core. In my story in this chapter, I made her core Unicorn hair, the same as Draco's.)

Draco showed up on time at the appointed place for his detention. Not surprisingly, only Mr. Filch was there. Three of the Gryffindor's were late while Neville failed to show entirely. When he asked about Neville, he was saddened to hear that he had been taken to St. Mungoes to visit his Gran. She had apparently checked herself in and had asked to see her grandson. Filch made all sorts of crazy accusations and jokes about what their punishment would be and should be as he took them to Hagrid. Draco paid him and his ramblings no attention. That is until Hagrid confirmed that they would be entering the Forbidden Forest. "The Forbidden Forest!" Draco whined. "I thought Mr. Filch was joking. We cannot enter there! It has forbidden in its name!" He skin was pale and there was fear in his voice.

Hagrid frowned and looked down at the blond boy. "Ya listen 'ere! There is an injured unicorn in 'ere an' we are going to find it an' help it!" There was dislike in his voice, and he sounded like there would be no further discussion.

"That is work for a servant! Besides, we are not allowed in there and there are …," he stumbled for words as his fear grew, "there are … there are werewolves in there." His voice got softer and softer till he ended it in a whisper. His face had become totally white.

"Headmaster Dumbledore has given me permission to take ya inside. An 'tiss not a full moon, so ya have no fear of werewolves, they will be in man form." He then unkindly pushed Draco in front of him and said, "The 'est of ya follow me." Hagrid then walked towards the forest, pushing Draco as he went. Draco whined and said something about werewolves in human form liking the blood of children, but he never finished the sentence as the shoving on his back became less gentle.

The others at first had remained silent and largely unafraid. None of them seemed to have much knowledge of the Forbidden Forest, so they had no reason to fear it. That is until Draco's speaking informed them of what they might find. Then, their eyes lit up in fear, but as they were Griffindors, they managed it well. They did as they were told and followed Hagrid to the forest in silence.

As they approached the shadow of the trees, they saw a large pool of a silvery-white liquid glowing under the branches of the first tree. Hagrid stooped over it, placed his fingers in it, and rubbed it between them. Potter asked with wonder and awe in his voice, "Hagrid, what is that?"

"What we are 'ere for. That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there bin hurt badly by summat. This is the second time in a week. I found one dead last week. It is our job ta try an' find the poor thing." Everyone looked into the forest realizing what they were in for. The forest looked dark, foggy, and very spooky.

"And what if whatever hurt the unicorn finds us first?" asked Draco, unable to keep the fear out of his voice. He took out his wand and stepped close to the pool of blood.

"There's nothin' that lives in the forest that'll hurt ya if yer with me or Fang," said Hagrid. He was about to say more but stopped to watch Draco.

Draco stooped and poked his wand into the pool of blood. At the same time, he asked Hagrid, "Were you trying to determine how fresh the blood was?" He turned to look at Hagrid for his answer but returned to looking at his wand as it began to pulse violently.

"Yes," Hagrid answered in a puzzled voice. "Malfoy, what the heck are ya doin'?"

"Being the same as my core, I thought my wand might like the blood, but I would say that I was much mistaken. It seems most angry."

"Right," Hagrid said with annoyance in his voice, "wipe it off then." He mumbled something under his breath about why he got stuck with him, but other than his glare at Draco, he said nothing further about it.

Draco picked some leaves and tried to wipe the blood off on them, but he got shocked from his wand in the process. He raised his eyebrows and crinkled his forehead as he looked at his wand. His wand had never shocked him before. He tried again and received a shock so strong that everyone heard the crack of electricity.

Hagrid exclaimed, "Dammit Malfoy! Are ya through or mus' we wait longer for ya?" Draco sheepishly nodded at him to continue. "Now, listen carefully, 'cause it's dangerous what we're gonna do tonight, an' I don' want no one takin' risks. An' ya keep ter the path. Right, now, we're gonna split inter two parties an' follow the trail in slightly diff'rent directions. There's blood all over the place, it must've bin staggerin' around since last night."

"I want Fang," said Draco quickly, looking at Fang's long teeth. Fang should be able to offer good protection and he'd be able to smell a werewolf from a long distance off.

"All right, but I warn ya, he's a coward," said Hagrid. "Me, Ron, an' Hermione'll go one way an' Draco, Harry, an' Fang'll go the other." He looked at Potter for a long while as the boy squirmed but said nothing. "Sorry 'Arry, but ya an' Malfoy have the strongest magic, an' this is detention, so I canno' put ya with ya friends." He patted Potter on the shoulder as if to say that he would be alright. "Now, if any of us finds the unicorn, we'll send up green sparks, right? Get ya wands out an' practice now - that's it - an' if anyone gets in trouble, send up red sparks, an' we'll all come an' find ya." He was sure about the others, but he waited to see if Draco could make his bloody wand work. When everyone practiced with their wands, he said, "Eh - and be careful - let's go."

Draco, Potter, and Fang took the path on the right while Hagrid, Ron and Hermione took the path on the left to enter the forest. Draco stayed close to Fang, carrying the lantern in one hand and his wand in the other. The blood on his wand glowed eerily, catching the light from the lantern at weird moments, so that Potter could not keep his eyes off it. He seemed to like looking at the eerie light and stayed right behind and to the left of it. When Potter saw Draco shiver, he asked, "Are you afraid Malfoy?"

"I am in the Forbidden Forest at night with only Fang and you, with something here that is either fast enough or powerful enough to injure a unicorn. So, I would be a fool not to be afraid." He sneered at Potter and asked, "How about you, Potter?"

Potter ignored his question and asked, "Is it that difficult to catch and injure a unicorn? Could not a werewolf do it?"

"No, they are not fast enough. I have never heard of anything catching and injuring a unicorn before. They are very smart, fast, and magically powerful creatures. They are also very noble and pure; I imagine your kind would call them holy."

"My kind?"

Draco scowled at him. "You know what I meant, those from the muggle world. You know a lot more about them then you do about your _own_ world." He said the word own as if it was an insult.

Potter nodded his head in understanding. He did not grow up in the magical world, so of course Draco would have a better understanding of it. Yet, Draco seemed to have a better understanding of their world than any other witch or wizard his age. "Why do you know so much about the Forbidden Forest and unicorns? Neither Hermione or Ron, who grew up in a wizarding family, knew much about either."

"Well, Weasel is nearly an idiot, and Hermione grew up in the muggle world, so that means little. Lots of pure-blood students know about the Forbidden Forest, and as for unicorns, I keep trying to tell you that my wand core is made from unicorn hair." Draco pursed his lips together and paused. "You never seem to understand the importance of that."

Potter was skeptical. He always was. "How does your wand core makeup make you an expert on unicorns?"

"What a stupid question, Potter! Are you not an expert on the phoenix?" He looked at Potter and saw his face fall. "No? What an idiot Potter! Because my wand core was unicorn hair, I have learned all about them." He glared at the black-haired boy whose hair was always messy. He pushed his wand out towards Potter and said, "I keep trying to tell you that my wand core is unicorn hair. It is from a creature that is so pure that it is the hardest to turn towards dark magic. And you keep saying that I practice dark magic!" He said his last statement with anger.

Potter said in anger, "No one cares about your stupid wand core! And get that blood covered stick away from me!" He glared at the other boy until he pulled his wand away. "The Malfoys have always practiced dark magic! That is what people care about!"

Draco calmed himself down and whispered, "I have never practiced dark magic Potter. And I bet your mother would have cared about my wand core. She had a wand core made of unicorn hair too."

Potter's head snapped back sharply, and he looked straight into Draco's eyes. "How can you possibly know that?" His anger instantaneously evaporated and was replaced by gentle skepticism.

"I read her obituary. Her wand was 10 and ¼ inches of Willow with a unicorn hair core."

"I never knew that." Potter's face fell as he looked at the ground. He sheepishly said, "I did not even know that she had an obituary I could read."

Draco looked at the other boy in amazement. How could Potter not know that? His tone became gentle as he said, "I could show you if you like. It is in the library."

"Thanks, I would like that."

Draco smiled to himself. That was probably the first time that Potter had thanked him. Yes, he never even thanked him when he had Accioed his chocolate frog back on the train. He looked at Potter but said nothing. They walked further into the forest in silence for a while. It was Potter who broke the silence. He looked at Draco with wonder and asked, "Why would you have read my mother's obituary? Since my father died the same night, I assume you read his too."

Draco knew this was his chance, so he nervously cleared his throat and answered as best as he could. "Yes. I have tried to learn all about you. I was serious when I offered you my hand of friendship when we first met. My father wants me to become friendly with you because he thinks you will be the next powerful dark wizard. I know he is wrong, you will be powerful, but you will never become dark. Yet, I still want to be friends with you." He looked at Potter anxiously, and his eyes were almost pleading.

Potter could not believe what he had heard. He heard a compliment in what was said, but he instead focused on his anger. "Malfoy! It is because of you that I am in this detention! That is a funny way to show me that you want to be my friend."

Draco sighed, "I know. I was angry when I told you all about Nicolas Flamel and then you went back on your word and insulted me." He initially looked petty, but then looked about the forest and shivered. "Believe me, I regret it now. I mean, I want to help the unicorn, but not at night under these trees."

Potter could not help but look around and agree. It was spooky. "I suppose I should have kept my promise and I was rude to you." He put out his hand to stop the blond boy from walking further and asked, "You told me why your father wants you to be my friend, but not why you do. Why?" He looked at the other boy to search his face to judge if his answer was sincere, but Potter looked as if he did not trust his own judgement. Potter had not demonstrated much ability to read other people, maybe he was beginning to learn his limitations.

"Why?" Draco answered in surprise. "Why would I not want to be friendly with the most popular boy in Hogwarts, the Boy-Who-Lived?" He stopped and thought for a bit. "By the way, how did you survive the killing curse and turn it back on You-Know-Who?"

"I do not know. I was just a baby."

"I know, so was I. Please try to remember that. Anyway, the whole school fawns over you. When you demonstrated a spell at dinner that all first years had already been taught, the dining hall gave you a thunderous applause. When I followed with my shield charm, a spell that is not taught except to advanced 5th or 6th years, I got hardly any applause." Draco frowned with bitter disappointment.

"That is because they are afraid of you."

Draco looked indignant. "Afraid of a defensive spell? How could I hurt anyone with that?"

"You stopped Professor Dumbledore. If he could not get through your defenses, no one would. Being untouchable makes you free to attack others with offensive spells."

Draco nodded his head in understanding. "Yet, Potter, I have only learned one minor jinx spell. I really cannot do offensive spells yet."

Potter blinked his eyes in surprise. "Really, I thought you would be trying really hard at that. I have learned several just so that if we ever got into a wizard's duel, I would be ready for you." Potter smiled to himself but did not say what he found amusing. "I thought that was why you had learned the shield charm."

Draco smirked. "I am happy that I have encouraged your learning. Merlin knows you need to learn a lot. Yet, I do not mean to disappoint you Potter, but I did not learn the shield charm to defend myself from you. The worst you have given me," and with this, he got a sly smile on his face, "is a knee to the groin. Believe me, I have suffered far worse." He then got a look in his eyes as if he was remembering something awful.

The two boys then looked at each other and without saying a word, came to a mutual understanding and continued their search in the forest. This time, Draco broke the silence. "I have two other reasons for wanting to be your friend. First, you keep telling me that the Malfoys have a bad reputation. You even challenged me to find something good that they have done without using money. Well, I did find something, and it is not from someone who married into the family. When wizards and their families were being persecuted for practicing magic, before The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy of 1689, a delegation of wizards went before the English monarchs and asked for protection. When the delegation failed, Ralston Potter convinced the Wizengamot to enact the statute of secrecy. The point is a Malfoy was a member of that delegation that asked for protection."

"Boy, you had to really dig to find that. Yet, I accept it as something good that the Malfoys once did." Potter looked like he might say more, but he stopped himself.

"Yes. I agree. It is so long ago that this one instance hardly makes the Malfoys look good. Yet, I want to change their reputation. That is the second reason I want your friendship. I want my son Scorpius to grow up with a better Malfoy reputation than I had. You can help me."

"Your son?"

"Yes. I have seen the future." Draco got a faraway look as if he was seeing something that was not there. "My son Scorpius will receive at Hogwarts much grief because of my family's reputation. I want to make his life easier. You should want to help me with this, because his best friend will receive grief from being associated with him, and he will be your son Albus."

Potter just laughed. He laughed so long that Draco stopped and glared at him, telling him that he was serious. "I know, but you are the oddest boy, Malfoy. You are talking about our sons as a certainty. I am only a first year! I am not even interested in girls yet! So, it is kind of hard for me to think about our sons!"

Draco scowled as Potter got another bought of laughter. When he stopped, Draco asked if they could be friends. He did point out that he had many connections, a good understanding of the wizarding world, and its power structure. He would be a useful ally to Potter. Draco on the other hand would simply get an easier and better chance to change the future.


	19. Chapter 19

Potter scrunched his forehead in thought. "You know, Hermione keeps trying to tell me you will be a useful ally."

"That is because she is very smart." Draco then smirked and added, "Besides, we are secret friends."

Potter raised his eyebrows in disbelief. "You are secretly a friend to a muggle-born? Is that not against your pure-blood beliefs?"

"Two actually. Ever since I saved Justin Finch-Fletchley and he tried to save me, we have been secret friends. Draco grinned evilly as he said, "That boy has more balls than brains."

When asked why he said that, Draco smirked, "Come off of it Potter. You cannot be that dumb. Justin had no way to stop them when they were attacking me, they were too much older and more powerful than him. If you recall, he ended up in the hospital wing."

"What about you? You defended him against older Slytherins?"

Yes, they were older, but only a year or two, and it was much different as I was never in any danger. They would have never dared to hurt me because I was a Malfoy. Indeed, that was the major reason I succeeded in defending him."

Potter grinned mischievously. "So, if Justin has more balls than brains, one could say that you have more brains than balls."

"OK Potter. You do not need to insult me." Yet, he was unable to totally suppress his snigger. "Anyway, I was just trying to explain things to you as to why we became secrete friends. Justin and Hermione both took it pretty well when I explained to them that as the heir to House Malfoy, I could not in public be friends with them because of my house's beliefs about the purity of the blood, but that I wanted to be friends with them in secret." Draco paused and then smirked again, "I have probably made more secret pacts this year than you will in your life-time."

"That makes absolutely no sense. Why would they agree to such nonsense? Why would you?"

Draco pinched his brows together, "It makes perfect sense to us, Potter. I cannot answer for them, but you may ask them after I give them permission to talk about it. As for me, I did it because I wanted to. It was the only way I could think of where I would be able to be their friend. So, what about you?"

Potter scrunched his eyebrows in thought again. "I hate to admit it, but you do know a lot. How did you know about my invisibility cloak? Only four people should even know about its existence!" He looked sharply at Draco demanding an answer.

"I am Draco Malfoy. I know many things." He got a smug smile on his face as he said that. He definitely liked that it bothered Potter that he knew about his cloak. He ignored Potter's increasing demands that he tell him how he knew. Ignoring Potter only made him angrier, he was so easy to rile. "And trust me, there are others who either know or suspect." Draco blinked his eyes a couple of times, seeing how upset he was making the other boy. He did not want to get him too angry. What could he tell him that he would like to hear? "Oh, and by the way Potter, you were right about the Philosopher's Stone being at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall was most unhappy to hear that you knew about it and that you were concerned that someone was trying to steal it." It may have come across as bragging, but he was trying to impress Potter that he did know a lot about many things.

"What?" Potter said in confusion. It was clear that he was unsure if Draco was trying to compliment him or do something sinister? "Who else knows about the cloak? Who did you tell?"

"Settle down Potter. The only person I told was McGonagall, and she did not believe me. Yet, if you use the cloak around Mrs. Norris or the Fat Lady, they will either find out about it or become suspicious." Draco pursed his lips in thought, hoping that Potter would start thinking. Potter must know that when he used his cloak around the two of them, that they would become suspicious as to why Potter had disappeared. He then said that if Potter would consider becoming his friend, he might tell him how he knew.

Potter got a confused look again, probably because he had not been expecting that. Yet, he became thoughtful and eventually said, "Cedric likes you too. If we get out of here alive tonight, I may consider it."

Draco pinched his forehead. Potter's remark was far less than he had hoped for, but it was the first time Potter had said that they might become friends. "You may consider it? Can't you say that you will consider it? And please do not say things that might jinx us. Something does not feel right. Something is wrong in this forest, or I cannot feel magic at all."

With that, both boys stopped and looked around. They could see nothing in the shadows of the trees. Potter said nothing, but Draco thought that he too could feel it. Something was not right in the forest.

When Potter urged them to continue searching, Draco looked at his wand and noted that the unicorn blood on it was still wet and glowing. Was its glow uneven? Did it sometimes get brighter? Then it occurred to him, it was a unicorn wand with unicorn blood! Why had he not thought of this sooner. He put the wand in the center of his palm and then commanded, "Point Me."

"Malfoy, what are you doing?"

"I hope my wand will point me to the unicorn."

"That won't work. The spell will only point the wand to the North. See, it is pointing North."

"Just a minute." Draco then extinguished his lantern and said, "Look again." He then repeated his spell and spun his wand in his palm. It pointed to the North, but as it moved through the East, the blood glowed slightly brighter. Draco pointed the wand in every direction, but only the East had a brighter glow. "I think our unicorn is somewhere to the East." With that, he bent down, pointed his wand at the lantern, and lit it with Incendio.

"Malfoy, if we go East, that will move us away from Hagrid and the others and take us off the trail."

"I know, but we are supposed to find the injured unicorn. Are you coming?" Potter said nothing but followed Draco and Fang after they started off the trail. Using the blood on Draco's wand to guide them, they headed East and soon came across the freshest pools of blood that they had seen. And better yet, they found a trail moving in the correct direction.

Seeing that they were moving further and further away from Hagrid and the others, Potter said, "I must be crazy. I am alone and following the son of a Death Eater further and further into the Forbidden Forest in the dead of night. Do you have something dark and sinister planned for me Malfoy? Because it sure looks it."

If it were not for Potter's smile and gleaming eyes when he said it, Draco would have been insulted. Draco smirked and replied, "That joke was in poor taste. If it were not for the fact that I think that you are as uncomfortable as I am here alone under the trees knowing that we could be attacked by werewolves and who knows what at any moment, I would be offended. If you recall, I was the one who objected to being sent in here. And, my father was not a Death Eater by choice, he was under the Imperius Curse."

Potter sniffed the air defiantly. "Keep telling yourself that. Yet, I have looked into the voting patterns of your father and into his alliances. Do you know that he has allied himself 95% of the time with those suspected of being Death Eaters?"

Draco frowned and blinked quickly. "I am sure that there is another reason for that. For example, my father believes strongly in the purity of the blood, as do the Sacred Twenty-Eight families. He might simply be voting with them because of that issue. As the Death Eaters tended to come from those houses, his correlation to them may be accidental."

"Arthur Weasley, the Crouches, the Shacklebolts, and the Longbottoms are members of the Sacred Twenty-Eight and yet your father only aligns himself 5% of the time with them. They are known not to be Death Eaters." Potter looked at him challenging him to refute that.

Draco frowned again and crinkled his forehead. "What are you trying to say? That my father has lied to me, his only heir?" His face became drawn as he looked increasingly annoyed and disturbed.

"Look, Draco, I know you love your father and that this might be hard for you." He looked out into the forest composing his thoughts before returning to look at Draco. "You do not have to answer me; you do not have to voice your thoughts. Yet, you should know better than I who your father's friends are. Who are important to him? Who visits him with important concerns and who does he go to? If they are suspected Death Eaters, then you have your answer." The two boys looked at each other in silence for a while, before resuming their search for the unicorn.

As the trail dove into the thickest part of the forest, they soon saw in the distance the biggest and purest white glow on the ground that they had ever seen. As they approached, it was obvious that they had found the injured unicorn. It was lying unmoving on the ground. Unless one looked intently, it looked like it was dead. Only its chest had any signs of life, a quick and very slight shallow movement.

Potter came close and mumbled something about it being the most beautiful thing he had seen, then he greeted it, but Draco told him to get back because he was frightening it. Potter asked with annoyance, "How can **_you_** tell?" His tone on the word you implied that he did not believe him.

"Look at its eyes, Potter. It is scared out of its wits. Never in its life has it probably been so vulnerable. Move back to me." With that, Draco held up his wand and shot off green sparks.

Potter appeared not to like being told what to do, but with a huff, he moved back towards Draco and Fang, watching the unicorn as he went. It kept his eyes on him the entire time and became less tense as he got further away. "I should have remembered to shoot the sparks rather than approach so closely." His voice became friendlier as he asked, "It is in bad shape isn't it? How do you know so much about it?" As soon as he said it, he realized he already knew the answer.

"I keep telling you Potter, my wand core is of unicorn hair. Do you not listen? Yes, it is in bad shape. Hagrid is probably far away, so I doubt that he will come soon. It is in so bad of shape that I doubt that the oaf will be able to do much for it." He frowned and thought before adding, "Maybe Nurse Pomfrey will be able to do something."

"You should not be so disrespectful. Hagrid would not appreciate what you just called him." His annoyed tone returned a little, but he was mostly just lecturing the blond.

Draco was lost in thought. "What? Well, … he is not here to hear me, and … I doubt that you will tell him because … you like him and … it will hurt his feelings." Draco took his time in his answer, was clearly distracted, and was not paying much attention to what he was saying. "Besides, he said hurtful things about me to you that were not true, so I do not respect the oaf much." Draco then tore a piece of cloth off his undershirt, used the Ferula spell to turn it into a bandage and splint, used the Engorgio charm to enlarge it, and then used the Mobiliarbus charm to magically place it over and around the wound in the unicorn's neck. "There! That is probably all that Hagrid could do. I do hope he gets here soon though, so that we can go get Nurse Pomfrey."

Potter looked stupefied. "How the heck did you know how to do all of that?"

"Oh, mother taught me some useful spells before I left for Hogwarts."

"Your mother taught you all of those before you left for Hogwarts? I do not know anything about most of them, but Ron said that Engorgio was a charm taught to second year students! I saw you at Diagon Alley. How'd you learn all those, some of which are advanced for a first year, in so little time?"

"Oh, sorry. She never taught me that one. Weasley showed it to me. I am glad that he did, or else my bandage would not have been big enough." When Potter arched his eyebrows at him in disbelief, he added, "Well, he showed you too. Do you not remember the night you demonstrated Wingardium Leviosa? Weasley demonstrated Engorgio. I thought it would be very useful when tied to another spell, so I practiced it until I learned it." Draco then turned to a nearby branch and picked a few leaves. He wrapped them around his wand and wiped the unicorn blood off. This time, the wand let him do it without shocking him. They stood in silence for quite some time after that waiting for Hagrid.

Draco eventually became impatient, put the lantern down, and shot off more green sparks. He said that he hoped that Hagrid would arrive soon because he had to pee. Potter in mocking asked why he wanted an "oaf" to arrive soon, and he mocked him further that only a pure-blood boy would not simply go and pee in the forest. Though a bit insulted, Draco did not want to do that. He wanted some privacy to relieve himself, but he was afraid of leaving Potter, Fang, and the unicorn. In fact, his nerves had been getting worse ever since he had arrived at the spot with unicorn. He kept looking about to see if anything was watching them, but he could not find anything. Then he looked at the unicorn and froze.

Potter noticed Draco's frozen stance and examined him. Something looked wrong with his face. "Malfoy, are you OK?" When he got no answer, he came closer and touched his finger to Draco's right cheek. He smeared a single tear that had run down the pale boy's face.

Draco said in a voice that was barely a whisper, "Not a word to the others about this Potter." He meant his tear. "It just died."

Potter turned to look at the unicorn. "It did? How can you tell?"

Draco scowled but kept his voice in a whisper. "Remember, I am the nut when it comes to unicorns." His words were harsh, but there was no anger directed towards the black-haired boy. He was not even looking at Potter. Indeed, it sounded more like bitter sadness. "Its light has dimmed a little, and its chest has no shallow movements." Another tear started to run down his cheek.

Potter saw it now; the unicorn was indeed dead. He whispered, "You amaze me Malfoy. I do not understand you, but you amaze me."

If he was going to say anything further, he did not because both boys turned towards the sound of something rustling as if something was being dragged over the forest floor. Out of the shadows, a hooded figure slowly crawled across the ground and towards the unicorn. Both boys and Fang backed up in fear to give themselves more distance leaving the lantern on the ground in front of them. The figure reached the unicorn, ripped off Draco's bandage, lowered its head over the wound, and began to drink with a grotesque sucking sound. At times, its lips could be easily seen as they became stained with the unicorns' glowing blood.

Draco yelled in fear and bolted away as did Fang. Harry was transfixed by what he saw and did not move.


	20. Chapter 20

Only one more chapter and then my story is done!  
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Draco thought he was an idiot for staying. Then he heard Potter cry out in blinding pain and fall to the forest floor. Just then, Draco tripped on the roots to a tree and fell hard. Fang ran off, leaving him alone on roots and leaves. He apprehensively turned back to look and saw the hooded figure moving towards a kneeling Potter and saying his name. Its lips glowed silver with unicorn blood that dribbled down its chin and its eyes burned like hot coals reflecting the light from the lantern. He sure was glad that that thing was after Potter and not him. Just as he stood, he heard hooves galloping towards him and saw a centaur jump over Potter and come between the cloaked figure and Potter. The two advisories insulted and threatened each other, and then engaged in what would best be described as combat. Knowing he would regret it, Draco then ran over to Potter, pulled him to his feet, and told him he was going to run. As Draco ran, he pulled on Potter's arm until Potter got the hint to follow him as fast as he could.

Draco headed in the direction that he thought Hagrid would be, but he did not get far before he saw a green light. "Oh shit, Potter." There was absolute fear in his voice. "We've got to get out of here now, or we're both dead." He then encouraged the other boy to run faster and faster. Draco was so afraid that he easily outpaced Potter and had lost all fear of the dark forest. Both boys sprinted till they could not run any further.

When Potter caught up to him, he said, "It is a wonder I did not trip, running at your pace in this forest in the dark. There are roots and slippery leaves everywhere."

"I think we have lost it, but we had better continue heading for Hagrid." Draco felt his pants, took out his wand, and mumbled accio something.

Potter asked, "What are you doing?"

"None of your business," he answered rather sharply. "Let's move towards Hagrid." He started walking though he continued casting his spell.

Potter, unable to keep his noise in his own business, took out his wand and uttered, "Lumos." When he did, it was obvious that Draco was drying his wet pants with the summoning charm. Harry grinned, "You sure do not have the bravery of a Gryffindor."

"Shut up! And I probably just saved your life, so not a word of this to anyone!"

"Yes Malfoy." His tone held amusement and some respect. "Not a word to anyone. I would not want anyone to know that you were human enough to cry and afraid enough to wet your pants." Draco just glared at him and finished his spell work. When he finished and put away his wand, Potter said, "You came back for me. You were deathly afraid, and yet you came back for me."

"Let us pray that I did not make a mistake." Both boys looked at each other in silence. Draco whispered, "To be honest, if I had not tripped and been alone when Fang ran off, I might not have been able to do it. I just wanted to get away from that blood sucking thing. I was afraid, but I think I would have been even more afraid without you. I am not a Gryffindor."

This caused Potter to look sharply at him. "That did not sound much like you Malfoy. Why are you being so open and honest."

Draco looked at Potter with hope in his eyes. "You know why. I need you. I will not be able to change my family's reputation for my son without your help."

Potter rolled his eyes. "After what we have just been through, I cannot believe that you are talking about your son again! You are the strangest person I have ever known Malfoy. And I know some pretty strange people!" Potter got a far-off look as if he were thinking of something or someone. Probably thinking about his muggle acquaintances Draco thought.

"My father's most important friends are suspected Death Eaters." That got Potter to look at him sharply again. "I wanted to let you know that I have been thinking about what you said. He told everyone including me that he was a Death Eater because the Dark Lord had put him under an Imperius Curse. I wanted you to know that I now have my doubts about it, but I will deny that I ever told you this."

"Wow, you are serious about your offer of friendship." When Draco started to say that he was serious about everything that he had said, Potter interrupted, "I do not want to hear about our future sons again! My gosh, I am only eleven!"

Draco got a worried look to his face as he continued to look at the other boy. "You are too loud," he whispered as he nervously looked around the forest. "We should go," he said as he headed in the direction of Hagrid. "Can we be friends?" He looked at Potter with utter apprehension.

Potter looked at him thoughtfully for a few seconds before answering. "Malfoy, I may have been wrong about you. You cared about that unicorn, and Hermione, and Justin Finch-Fletchley, two muggle-borns. You also know far more than I gave you credit for, and none of it has been dark magic. Everything you have done from the proteus spell to trying to heal that unicorn has been anything but dark. Heck, you even came back for me back there. So," he said biting his lip, "I will consider it. Just as soon as we get to somewhere safe."

Draco looked away and sighed. He slumped his shoulders and headed in the direction of Hagrid and the others.

Potter said, "Hey, do not look so disappointed. I changed from 'may consider it' to 'will consider it.' I just do not want to think about it here or right this minute. OK?" Draco just nodded his head in answer.

They soon saw a light and headed toward it. From a distance, they could see that it was being carried by Hagrid. Both boys ran towards him with relief.

Hagrid, Hermione, and Ron were confused at seeing them, because they were far from where the green sparks had originated. To explain, Potter babbled about what they had seen, with Draco filling in the details. Hagrid did not follow all that he was told and wanted to check on the unicorn. Potter and Draco both steadfastly refused. When Hagrid would not take no for an answer, Draco said, "I am not going back there even if you expel me. The unicorn is dead and is probably having its blood sucked out of it right now. The centaur is also dead because when it was fighting that thing, I saw the unmistakable light of the killing curse."

That finally brought a look of comprehension to Hagrid's face. "Yer one who would know abou' that. Right then, I 'pose we should get Professo' Dumbledore." Draco frowned at the remark Hagrid gave, but he said nothing. He was just relieved that his knowledge of the killing curse convinced Hagrid to head straight for Dumbledore.

As they headed back to Hogwarts, Potter touched his arm as if to say that it was alright that he knew about the killing curse. That Hagrid's remark was uncalled for. That meant a lot to him. Someone else had finally acknowledged that sometimes some people treated him unfairly, treating him as if he was a dark wizard for no good reason. That was a good sign. Potter must indeed be considering becoming his friend. As they were about to enter the castle, he got further confirmation of it. Potter asked Hermione if she would become a friend in secret to someone if there was a good reason to keep it a secret. She looked away from Potter to look at him as if to ask a question. Seeing that Ron and Hagrid were not paying attention, he nodded his head in answer. She then answered that she supposed she would if there was a good reason, such as if someone wanted to befriend her even though their family would not approve of her being raised by muggles. She then cleverly hid her true meaning by asking Potter if he ever ran into that situation, someone who liked him but whose family disapproved of his being raised by muggles.

"Ha!" Potter laughed. "I disapprove of the muggles who raised me. So, we would have much in common."

Hagrid piped in that he had never met such pinheaded muggles as Harry's aunt and uncle, saying that he meant no disrespect on his family. That Harry's mother and father were two of the finest wizards and witches that he had ever known. He ended by saying that everybody would want to be friends with Harry, except maybe a few of the pure-bloods, such as Malfoy. He said the word pure-bloods in such a tone to indicate that he did not think very highly of them.

Potter just grinned and looked at him. So, Draco silently mouthed to him, "What an oaf!" This caused the dark-haired boy to break into laughter.


	21. Chapter 21

Hagrid took his party straight to the headmaster's quarters. He had to bang and call for Dumbledore for quite awhile before the door opened. The headmaster looked as if he had just gotten out of bed, which considering the hour was probably the case. After listening to Hagrid's brief summary and request for a meeting, the headmaster sent Hermione and Ron to bed, told Harry and Draco to wait outside so that he could question them, and then brought Hagrid inside to speak to him.

Draco and Potter sat outside the headmaster's office for what seemed like over an hour before they were ushered inside. By this time, Draco had already lost his patience. He could not believe that the headmaster had talked to Hagrid for all that time when he had not been a witness to that horrible cloaked thing attacking the unicorn and attempting to attack Potter. Meanwhile the two eyewitnesses had been forced to sit and wait outside a closed door while the cloaked thing prepared for its next task or victim. Hagrid ushered the two boys into the headmaster's office and followed them inside. Draco thought that strange because Hagrid could not possibly contribute to their description of what had happened. Draco barely constrained his irritation as Professor Dumbledore asked them to explain what had happened from the beginning, though he directed most of his question and attention to Potter. Potter gave a pretty good account, describing everything in brief. Draco would add details if he thought it warranted, but otherwise let Potter tell the story. Potter seemed to appreciate his addition of some details and a few minor corrections.

Professor Dumbledore occasionally asked questions as Potter describe what had happened. Sometimes he wanted to know how Potter felt, or how he thought Draco felt. He never asked Draco how he thought Potter felt, though that did not surprise him. Draco was miffed when he once asked Potter if he felt like Draco knew what was about to happen.

"How the heck would I know what was about to happen?! You were the one who sent us into the Forbidden Forest as punishment! I just got into trouble!"

"I know he has seen the future professor, but he did not know what was about to happen. Of all of us, I would say he was the most afraid." Clearly Potter did not understand what the crusty old headmaster was implying. Clearly, he was too naïve to understand that the headmaster was wondering if Draco had a sinister hand in the night's activities.

"My boy, how can you say that?"

Potter frowned as he gathered his thoughts. "He keeps talking about our future sons. Apparently, his son Scorpius will be good friends with my son Albus. It is actually quite weird, and I wish he would just shut up about it." Potter looked hard at him as if to emphasize that he did not want to hear about his future son.

Dumbledore positively beamed, and his eyes took on a totally different twinkle. "You are going to name your son Albus?" Potter just got a blank look, as if he did not understand that his future son was likely named after the headmaster. "Though pleasant, that is not what I meant. Why did you think that Draco was afraid?"

"Oh, that was easy." Harry looked at him and smiled. Draco's face turned a bright shade of pink as he looked down at his shoes. "For one, he was at times shaking. For another, I was afraid, and Draco is not a Gryffindor." The house of the brave and stupid. Draco would rather be in the house of the cunning and ambitious any day. "Draco also knew a lot more of the horrors of the forest than the rest of us, not counting Hagrid, of course. He also kept telling me that something was wrong with the forest. His magic could feel it and it made him so nervous that he was always looking all around the place. I too could sometimes feel it, though I would have made no sense of it if he would not have said anything."

"Anything else?" Draco tried to shut his ears. He was pleasantly surprised to hear Potter answer in the negative, other than that Draco had told him he was afraid.

"He said he was afraid? May I hear exactly what he said?"

Potter explained that it was when Draco was discussing why he had come back for him. "I believe he said, 'I just wanted to get away from that blood sucking thing. I was afraid, but I think I would have been even more afraid without you. I am not a Gryffindor.'"

Hagrid grinned. "He 'mitted he wa' a coward?" This caused Draco to fume.

"Hagrid please. Let the boy explain his story."

Draco calmed down once he realized that Potter had not discussed that he had wet his pants. Potter also did not discuss his crying at the death of the unicorn, he only said that he knew that Draco was sad.

The only time the headmaster asked Draco a question of importance was when he wanted to know how Draco knew that the killing curse had been caste. Draco explained that he had seen his father caste the curse on a rat in their cellar, and that the green light of that curse was unmistakable. Draco admitted that he did not see who had caste the curse and that he assumed that it killed the centaur, he did not actually see those two events.

Professor Dumbledore then concluded the session by thanking the boys for their observations and that they should get to bed. He then instructed Hagrid to escort the boys to their dorms. Draco fumed. "That is it! One of your students nearly got killed, and you are not going to do something! My father shall hear about this!"

"Do you want further detention! Do not presume to know what I am going to do!"

"Perhaps you do not understand something! Something dark was in that forest tonight. It killed a unicorn and drank its blood. It probably killed a centaur with the killing curse. It knew Harry Potter by name and wanted him dead. Does that sound like someone we know?"

"Detention with Hagrid again!"

"I do not care about your stupid detentions! That was obviously the Dark Lord, and he wants Potter! You have to do something to protect him! You have to do something before he regains his strength and we are involved in another war!"

"Do not presume to lecture me about things that you have no knowledge of! I know far more than you could possibly ever suspect!"

That got Draco to calm down and think. He blinked his eyes rapidly as he stared at Dumbledore. He said in disbelief, "You knew." In almost a whisper he asked, "If you knew, then why did you send us into the forest?" Just for a moment, the headmaster blanched. He had said more than he had meant to, though he recovered quickly and put a blank expression on his face. Draco blinked his eyes as he assimilated the latest information. "If you knew he was there, then you must have wanted us to find him, or him to find us. Yet, why?" Draco blinked his eyes again and Dumbledore started to look worried. Draco concluded that he must have wanted Potter to meet Voldemort. "If your plan was for Potter to destroy him again, it was very risky. Potter is not ready to face the Dark Lord."

"This is absurd! You have no idea of what you are talking about. All it is is mere speculation from the son of a Death Eater. Do you have any proof for anything?"

"No." Draco took a harsh tone, "Except for the dead unicorn and centaur." He knew he was a bit cheeky, but there was no reason to call him the son of a Death Eater. Was he not acting in Potter's interest? "Yet, I suspect they will be gone shortly after daybreak. Won't they Professor Dumbledore."

"Two days detention with Hagrid! Now get to bed Mr. Malfoy or I will make it three." He turned to Potter and asked him to stay for a moment, asking the same of Hagrid. Draco left the headmaster's office, but he stayed outside and waited for Potter.

After less than 10 minutes, Potter and Hagrid came out. Hagrid asked why he had not gone to bed like he was told. Draco explained that he needed to talk to Potter. Hagrid threatened to tell on him and get him another day of detention. Draco replied, "You can do that if you wish. Yet, let me point out that the extra detention will be with you. Do you really want another day with me?" Hagrid looked dumbstruck and had no reply.

Draco then asked if he could talk to Potter in privacy. Hagrid explained that he was supposed to escort Harry to his dorm. That made sense, Dumbledore was starting to do something. He was giving Potter some protection and trying to keep the chosen one away from Draco. It was not until Potter asked for some privacy that Hagrid agreed to give it, telling them not to take too long.

Draco cocked his head at Potter and asked, "May I ask what that last part was about?"

"Professor Dumbledore was warning me about you. You really got him angry." He smiled when he said that, but Draco was unsure why. "He does not want us being close, and he does not want me listening to your wild conjectures. He assured me that I was safe as long as I remained under his protection."

"I am not surprised. He probably can protect you better than anyone, but I am unsure if it will be enough. Are you going to follow his advice?"

"I have not decided." Potter paused, looked at him and blinked. "I never told him what you told me about your father, but he believes your father served Lord Voldemort willingly, and if he were to return, he believes your family will return to serving him. He also warned me that if we were to become friends, that you would follow your family and betray me."

Draco frowned and admitted that the headmaster was probably correct about most of it. Yet, he insisted that if they were to become friends, that he would find a way to remain loyal to both his family and his friends, even if they were on opposite sides of a war. The easiest way to do it would be to stay neutral, but he was sure that he could come up with other ways, if needed.

"That was what I wanted to hear. I had already decided that since you had come back for me, that I should give you a chance." Potter smiled and stuck out his hand. I would be honored Mr. Malfoy if you would accept my hand of friendship. I would like it public, but if you would rather it be private or secret, that is OK too."

So that was why Potter had smiled earlier. Draco returned the smile and moved his hand towards Harry's. "Mr. Potter, I accept your hand of friendship, and I pledge to never break it." The two boys shook hands eagerly. "I would like it public. Please call me Draco."

"I will if you call me Harry." The end.


End file.
